iiiiiniiiiiiiiiiii  III  •■•■■•■■•■••>■*■  ■■■■■■■■'*"" 

LIBRARY 

OF 


Dept. 


No. 


Columbia  ®nitoersiftp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


ADDRESSES    ON 
NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 


'By 
BISHOP  CHARLES  H.  FOWLER 

With  an  Introduction 

'By 
R.  J.  COOKE,  D.  D., 

Book  Editor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


^ 


CINCINNATI:    JENNINGS   AND    GRAHAM 
NEW    YORK:     EATON    AND     MAINS 


/ifff 


Copyright,  1908, 
By  Jennings  and  Graham 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction,  -------         5-13 

Problems  of  the  Twentieth 

Century, 15-71 

The    Bible   and    the    Public 

Schools,  --------      73-116 

Appeal  for  Twenty  Millions,  -       117-135 

Wesleyanizing  THE  World,    -    -     137-169 

Fraternal    Address    to    the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,      -------        171-198 

Fraternal   Address   to   British 

Wesleyan  Conference,  -    -       199-243 

The  University, 245-332 

The    First    Conference    and 
Early  Methodism  in  Phila- 
delphia,            333-365 

The  Greatness  of  Illinois,    -    -    367-441 

3 


CONTENTS. 

Address  on  Church  Extension 

—Camden,  N.  J., 443-477 

Address  on  Church  Extension 

— Philadelphia, 479-504 

The  Physician  Seen  from  the 

Standpoint  of  a  Layman,  -    -    505-530 

The  Seal  OF  THE  Covenant,  -    -       531-559 

Dedicatory  Prayer  at  Opening  of 

Columbian  Exposition,  -    -       561-573 

Dedicatory  Prayer  at  Opening  of 

Pan-American  Exposition,  -       575-584 


INTRODUCTION. 


To  THE  last  word  said  or  the  last  thing 
done  by  one  whose  memory  we  revere,  there 
is  attached  for  us  ever  after  a  peculiar  and 
indefinable  interest.  In  solemn  detachment 
it  stands  alone,  sacred,  impressive,  silently 
expressing  to  heart  and  mind  the  final  thought 
or  deed  of  him  who  has  passed  into  that  life 
where  ^'above  these  voices  there  is  peace." 

The  papers  and  addresses  by  Bishop 
Fowler  contained  in  this  volume  possess  such 
interest.  Mortally  stricken,  and  knowing  that 
the  end  was  near,  he  began  to  put  his  house 
in  order,  and  among  the  chief  things  which 
engaged  his  attention  to  within  a  few  days 
of  his  death  was  the  revision  and  arrange- 
ment of  these  papers.  They  are  printed  just 
as  he  left  them.  We  would  have  arranged 
them  differently;  arranged  them  in  an  order 
corresponding  to  his  development,  for  each 
address  indicates  the  high  reaches  he  attained 

5 


INTRODUCTION 

at  that  time  in  his  intellectual  growth  and 
spiritual  outlook.  Dante,  awaking  in  a  dark 
forest,  saw  far  above  him  a  hill  on  which  the 
sun  was  shining,  and,  attempting  to  climb  it, 
failed.  Bishop  Fowler  was  always  climbing, 
and  when  he  died  he  fell  asleep  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Delectable  Mountains  which  Bunyan 
also  saw  from  afar.  It  is  not  permissible, 
however,  for  us  to  change  the  final  form  he 
gave  this  volume,  and  these  addresses,  which 
so  mightily  stirred  vast  multitudes,  quickened 
the  Church,  and  contributed  in  so  many  ways 
to  the  expansion  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom, 
are  presented  to  the  Christian  public  just  as 
he  left  them  on  the  day  of  his  departure. 

Charles  Henry  Fowler  was  born  in  On- 
tario, Canada,  August,  1837.  ^^is  early  life 
was  spent  on  a  farm.  In  1859  he  graduated 
from  Genesee  College,  at  Lima,  N.  Y.,  at  the 
head  of  his  class,  and  delivered  the  valedictory 
address.  During  his  college  days,  inspired 
by  the  love  of  his  mother  and  an  eager  desire 
for  knowledge,  he  was  noted  for  his  pro- 
ficiency and  gave  ample  evidence,  both  of  his 

6 


INTRODUCTION 

intellectual  ability  and  of  his  magnetic  power 
as  a  public  speaker.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that,  possessing  such  gifts,  he  should  be 
drawn  to  the  study  of  law,  but  the  Spirit 
which  had  once  spoken  to  him  in  conversion 
spoke  again,  and  now,  thoroughly  convinced 
that  he  should  enter  the  Christian  ministry, 
the  possible  lawyer  abandoned  all  thoughts 
of  the  legal  profession  and  entered  Garrett 
Biblical  Institute,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  in  1861,  with  distinguished  honor. 
For  the  twelve  years  succeeding  this  event 
Dr.  Fowler  served  as  pastor  of  important 
Churches  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  In  1872 
he  was  elected  President  of  the  Northwestern 
University.  In  his  excellent  ^'Life  of  Glad- 
stone" Justin  McCarthy  says:  ''Nobody  can 
possibly  be  called  a  statesman  who  starts  in 
life  with  a  pack  of  political  nostrums  which 
he  proposes  to  apply  inveterately  to  the  cure 
of  every  constitutional  malady  in  the  State." 
And  this  observation  is  just  as  true  with  re- 
spect to  men  who  are  called  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  the  Church.     A  mind  like  that 

7 


INTRODUCTION 

of  Dr.  Fowler's,  however,  open  to  all  points 
of  the  compass,  could  not  but  feel  the  need 
of  a  radical  change  in  the  academic  atmos- 
phere of  the  institution  to  which  he  was 
called.  He  was  what  Emerson  would  call 
a  perpetual  force.  Built  on  a  large  scale,  he 
was  ever  seeing  large  things.  The  college  of 
which  he  became  President  was  too  small; 
its  scope  and  intellectual  sympathies  too  nar- 
row— and  forthwith  he  began  its  enlargement 
and  its  future. 

In  1872  Dr.  Fowler,  then  thirty- five  years 
of  age,  was  elected  to  the  General  Conference 
and  was  nominated  for  the  editorship  of  the 
Christian  Advocate,  of  which  Dr.  Daniel 
Curry  was  then  the  incumbent.  Dr.  Curry 
was  re-elected,  but  four  years  later,  at  the 
General  Conference  in  Baltimore,  Charles  H. 
Fowler  was  elected  editor  of  that  influential 
journal  on  the  first  ballot.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Mis- 
sionary-Society, a  providential  election  for 
the  Society,  which  at  that  time  demanded  a 
leader    who    combined    in    himself    business 

8 


INTRODUCTION 

capacity  of  high  order  and  the  power  to 
arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Church.  In 
1872  Dr.  Fowler  received  eighty-four  votes 
for  the  episcopacy;  and  in  1880  he  was  again 
prominently  mentioned  for  the  same  office, 
but  was  not  elected.  No  strong  force  ever 
operates  without  strong  opposition.  During 
these  years,  however,  he  was  becoming  more 
widely  known.  The  whole  Church  had  come 
to  recognize  his  worth  and  fitness,  and  in  1884 
he  was  elected  to  the  episcopal  office,  where 
he  found  ample  scope  for  his  pre-eminent 
abilities,  both  as  a  preacher  of  the  Word  and 
an  administrator  in  the  Church  of  God.  But 
"it  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,"  and 
after  twenty-four  years  of  laborious  service 
as  a  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  after  long,  weary  years  of  ever- 
losing  struggle  with  death,  he  finished  his 
earthly  course  in  the  triumph  of  faith,  March 
20,  1908,  comforted  by  the  loving  ministry 
of  his  devoted  wife  and  only  son. 

In    a    character-sketch    of    the    departed 
Bishop  in  the  Christian  Advocate  of  March 

9 


INTRODUCTION 

26,  1908,  the  editor,  Dr.  James  M.  Buck- 
ley, wrote:  "If  great  force,  imagination, 
mathematical  power,  memory,  will-power, 
friendship,  and  great  deeds  make  a  great  man. 
Bishop  Fowler  must  be  adjudged  a  place 
among  the  number  who  rise  high  above  the 
mass  of  mankind."  Bishop  Fowler  was  not 
only  a  great  force,  he  was  an  arsenal  of 
forces.  His  mathematical  power  to  recite 
whole  tables  of  logarithms  as  easily  as  one 
might  the  multiplication  table;  his  vivid 
imagination,  on  which  as  on  eagles'  wings 
his  congregations  often  rose;  his  keen  logic, 
his  power  to  will,  the  utter  lack  of  which  is 
such  a  plaintive  cry  in  the  Journal  Intime  of 
Amiel,  the  warmth  of  his  friendship,  the  ten- 
derness of  his  spirit,  and,  above  all,  his 
mighty  faith  in  the  reality  of  God,  each  was 
in  itself  a  radiating  energy,  and  they  all  sug- 
gest the  number  and  rare  combinations  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  potencies  which  found 
expression  in  the  life  of  this  extraordinary 
man. 

In  any  public  calling  Bishop  Fowler  would 
10 


INTRODUCTION 

have  been  a  conspicuous  figure.  But  as  Dr. 
Charles  J.  Little,  President  of  Garrett  Bibli- 
cal Institute,  said  in  his  memoir  of  the  Bishop 
at  the  recent  General  Conference  in  Balti- 
more, ''the  pulpit  and  the  platform  were  the 
places  of  his  power."  The  addresses  con- 
tained in  this  volume  will  justify  that  ob- 
servation as  regards  his  unsurpassed  ability  as 
a  platform  speaker,  and  the  volume  of  ser- 
mons which  is  yet  to  be  published  will  sus- 
tain the  conclusion  as  regards  his  power  as  a 
preacher,  although  we  shall  miss  the  flash  of 
his  eye,  and  the  music  of  his  voice  is  forever 
gone.  These  addresses  will  also  show  that 
the  secret  of  his  power  was  not,  after  all,  in 
his  splendid  eloquence,  nor  in  his  intellectual 
strength,  nor  in  his  virile  personality,  nor  in 
his  world-wide  scope  of  thought  and  experi- 
ence, but  in  his  all-dominating  conviction  of 
the  reality  of  God  and  his  faith  in  the  revela- 
tion of  Him  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  world's  Re- 
deemer. Without  such  belief,  which  was  not 
with  him  mere  intellectual  hospitality  to  a 
philosophical    conception,    but    a    profound 

11 


INTRODUCTION 

feeling,  Bishop  Fowler  could  never  have  been 
the  man  he  was. 

Some  men  may  be  able,  perhaps,  to 
shuffle  along  through  life  without  any  par- 
ticular thought  of  God,  and  even  brilliant 
genius,  as  in  the  case  of  Shelley  and,  for  a 
while,  Romanes,  may  successfully  assert  its 
unbelief,  but  to  Bishop  Fowler  belief  in  God 
was  a  necessity.  Hence,  it  is  not  strange  that 
he  saw  God  everywhere,  saw  Him  in  all 
world-movements,  and  with  prophetic  glance 
mapped  out  the  probable  purposes  of  God 
in  human  history.  In  all  literature  possibly 
there  is  not  a  more  thought-halting  sentence 
than  that  of  John  Henry  Newman's  in  his 
Apologia,  where,  having  declared  his  be- 
lief in  the  existence  of  God  and  yet  hav- 
ing expressed  doubt  as  to  the  evidence  in 
the  world  of  that  existence,  he  says:  "If 
I  looked  into  a  mirror  and  did  not  see 
my  face,  I  should  have  the  sort  of  feeling 
which  actually  comes  upon  me  when  I  look 
into  this  living  world  and  see  no  reflection  of 
its  Creator."     To  Bishop  Fowler  the  whole 

12 


INTRODUCTION 

world,  notwithstanding  its  discords,  and 
human  history,  in  spite  of  its  sinfulness,  was 
filled  with  the  presence  of  God,  who,  back  of 
all  Ministerial  Cabinets  and  Parliaments, 
Revolutions  and  Programs  of  Progress,  is 
working  out  his  sovereign  will,  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  race  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  es- 
tablishment on  earth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
This  belief  underlies  all  his  addresses,  this 
faith  inspired  his  eloquence,  and  it  is  there- 
fore with  intelligent  interest  that  we  may  turn 
these  pages,  for  in  this  volume  ''he,  being 
dead,  yet  speaketh." 


13 


PROBLEMS    OF    THE    TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 


Delivered   on   the   thirty-eighth   anniversary   of  the  San 
Francisco   Young    Men's   Christian   Associa- 
tion, Sunday,  January  25,  1891. 


PROBLEMS    OF    THE    TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 

'But  can  ye  not  discern  the  Signs  of  the  Times?" 

— Matt,  xvi,  3. 

Like  a  belated  traveler  tarrying  in  an  inn 
for  a  time,  the  Nineteenth  Century  tarries  in 
this  decade  on  its  journey  into  history.  The 
Twentieth  Century  is  at  the  door.  We  must 
go  forth  to  meet  it.  When  a  royal  guest  is 
expected  with  greetings  and  gifts,  everything 
is  put  in  order  for  his  proper  reception. 
Roads  are  repaired,  bridges  are  built,  palaces 
are  perfected;  everything  that  wealth  can 
command  and  genius  conceive  and  art  pre- 
pare is  made  ready,  that  the  distinguished  vis- 
itor may  be  honored,  and  that  his  visit  may 
bless  both  lands.  So  it  becomes  us  to  treat 
the  coming  century,  which  towers  above  all 
preceding  centuries,  and  brings  blessings 
which  all  past  ages  have  toiled  to  prepare. 

The  supreme  scientific  idea  of  this  age,  by 

which  this  age  will  be  distinguished  in  the 

history  of  thought,   is  Evolution;  not   in   its 

distorted  and  exaggerated  form  as  a  Deicide, 

2  17 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

but  in  its  Theistic  form,  having  a  divine  ini- 
tial impulse  to  help  it  up  the  ascending  types 
of  life,  such  an  evolution  as  can  be  traced  in 
the  luminous  teachings  of  Agassiz.  This 
great  order  of  nature  holds  ovjer  the  unfold- 
ing of  human  history.  The  ages  behind  us 
have  been  perfecting  the  types  of  our  life  and 
maturing  results  which  shall  soon  greet  us 
with  their  song  and  gladness.  We  start  forth, 
then,  with  new  environments,  in  the  midst  of 
unprecedented  advantage,  surrounded  and 
served,  like  the  royal  heirs  ''of  all  the  ages," 
with  vast,  multiplied  and  obedient  energies, 
forces  and  powers.  The  race  never  undertook 
the  work  of  a  new  century  with  such  allies 
and  prophecies. 

Review  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

We  need  but  a  hurried  glance  at  the  Up- 
lift of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  Physical  and 
social  conditions  a  hundred  years  ago,  taken 
as  the  standard,  would  compel  the  classifica- 
tion of  their  most  civilized  communities  or 
groups  of  population,  as  of  a  lower  order. 
The  oyster  is  lower  than  the  bird;  it  lacks 
the  higher  modes  of  locomotion.  The  serf 
is  lower  than  the  freeman;  he  is  fast  to  the 
soil;   circumscribed  by  his  habitat.     In   the 

18 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

beginning  of  this  century,  unpaved  and  un- 
kept  roads  delayed  much  of  the  year,  even 
in  England,  the  tardy,  unfrequent  and  creep- 
ing coach.  Mounted  guards  splashed  and 
scrambled  over  the  treacherous  turnpikes ; 
but  few,  and  they  the  wealthy,  ventured 
away  from  home.  To  visit  another  county, 
made  a  traveler  as  famous  as  the  circuit  of 
the  globe  does  to-day.  The  poor  walked, 
strangers  were  enemies,  and  dogs  were  set  on 
a  wanderer  from  another  town.  Dim,  smok- 
ing oil-lamps  lighted  our  great  cities,  heaps 
of  garbage  blockaded  the  sewerless  streets, 
and  accumulated  filth  perpetuated  fever, 
plagues,  and  pestilence. 

Wages  were  low.  After  Waterloo  a  stout 
Saxon  could  earn  4s.  6d.  per  week,  when  he 
could  find  w^ork.  Children  six  years  old  were 
worked  sixteen  hours  a  day  in  the  mines. 
English  women  clambered  up  unsafe  stairs 
and  ladders  on  all  fours,  with  excessive  bur- 
dens of  coal  on  their  backs.  Food  was  most 
costly;  a  little  meal  once  a  week  was  a  luxury; 
meat — never.  The  law  forbade  the  cutting  of 
bread  till  it  was  twenty-four  hours  old,  in 
order  not  to  make  crumbs.  This  tatter  which 
we  call  society,  this  remnant  which  we  call 
humanity,  was  pursued  by  the  tax-gatherer  as 

19 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

a  starving  coyote  is  pursued  by  a  hungry 
Sioux  warrior  over  the  deserts  of  Arizona. 
Five-eighths  of  the  products  of  labor  were 
taken  by  law  before  the  unjust  exactions  of 
power  began  the  search  for  booty.  News- 
papers were  taxed  4d.  (equal  to  8  cents), 
equal  to  eighty  cents  in  our  times.  Salt  was 
taxed  forty  times  its  value.  The  government 
collected  a  revenue  equal  to  £6  (equal  to 
$30),  per  inhabitant,  equal  to  about  $300  in 
these  times.  Not  long  before  this,  weaving 
of  calico  was  prevented  by  statute,  and  the 
weaving  of  cotton  goods  was  punished  with 
imprisonment. 

This  century  began  with  nearly  all  the 
Christian  nations  engaged  in  war.  War  is 
the  golden  opportunity  of  crime.  Sometimes 
''Liberty  gets  on  in  a  powder  cart,"  yet  the 
Christian  graces  find  little  room  there.  When 
stealing  and  murder  are  virtues,  the  ordinary 
virtues  do  not  thrive.  The  fierce  passions  and 
lower  appetites  usurp  authority,  and  society 
becomes  coarse  and  cruel,  bloody  and  brutal. 
The  long  wars  that  preceded  and  rushed  well 
up  the  first  quarter  of  this  century  left  the 
temper  of  the  people  fierce  and  vindictive. 

In  refined  society  guests  were  expected  to 
drink  to   heavy  drunkenness.     Neither   host 

20 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

nor  guest  had  showed  proper  respect  to  hos- 
pitality unless  they  rolled  together  under  the 
table.  The  few  Bibles  offered  for  sale  at  high 
prices  were  crowded  on  the  same  shelves  with 
obscene  books,  illustrated  with  most  obscene 
pictures,  which  books  were  the  delight  of 
mixed  gatherings  of  elegant  society.  Pro- 
fanity was  nearly  as  universal,  if  not  as  con- 
stant, as  breathing.  Chaplains  swore  at  the 
sailors  to  make  them  attentive  to  divine  serv- 
ice. Great  orators  swore  for  emphasis.  Er- 
skine,  the  model  of  his  age,  swore  at  the  bar. 
Judges  swore  on  the  bench.  Lord  Thurlow 
spiced  his  opinions  with  oaths.  Such  courts 
could  easily  be  bloody.  The  Georges  added 
one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  new  capital  of- 
fenses to  the  calendar,  and  sent  two  hundred 
and  twenty- three  capital  crimes  to  the  jurists 
and  statesmen  of  this  century.  In  that  cruel 
time,  if  a  poor  man  stole  five  shillings'  worth, 
even  to  secure  food  for  his  starving  children, 
he  was  hanged.  If  a  peasant  shot  a  rabbit 
he  was  hanged,  sometimes  before  his  family 
could  eat  the  game.  Jailors  bought  the  privi- 
lege of  robbing  the  prisoners.  At  North- 
ampton it  cost  £40  per  year.  In  the  days  of 
Henry  VIII  sturdy  beggars  were  flogged  for 
the  "first  asking,"  had  their  ears  bored  for  the 

21 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

second,  and  their  necks  stretched  for  the  third. 
Charles  Wesley  writes:  "Have  just  attended 
a  company  of  twenty  men  who  were  hung. 
Think  most  of  them  were  prepared.  There 
are  to  be  twenty  more  next  week."  In  the 
first  decade  of  this  century  a  mob  jeered  at 
the  body  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  and  another 
mob  bombarded  with  dead  cats  the  coffin  of 
Lord  Chancellor  Clare.  Trial  by  combat 
was  practiced  in  England  as  late  as  1827. 
Surely  we  are  coming  out  of  a  dark  and 
bloody  century.  When  I  saw  in  Stockholm 
that  wonderful  work  of  scultpure  showing  the 
Tolke-knife  fight,  wherein  two  nude  men, 
bound  closely  together  by  ropes  around  their 
waists,  and  armed  with  a  short  stout  knife, 
fought  to  the  finish,  and  then  remembered 
that  in  those  heroic  days  of  Sweden  wives  ac- 
companied their  husbands  to  social  gather- 
ings, and,  because  their  fights  were  so  fre- 
quent, carried  their  husbands'  shrouds  with 
them,  then  I  thought  that  that  was  a  rugged 
and  bloody  time.  But  the  records  of  our  Eng- 
lish sires  in  the  first  of  this  century  are  not 
much  better. 

The  great  societies  called  nations  were 
all  in  the  iron  grip  of  despotism.  England 
alone  had  a  stable  charter  to  her  liberties,  but 

22 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

this  was  chiefly  on  parchment.  What  the 
government  granted  by  wholesale  in  the 
charter,  extorted  by  patriots  and  heroes,  was 
pilfered  away  in  piecemeal  by  rotten  bor- 
oughs and  unscrupulous  bribery.  Two-thirds 
of  the  House  of  Commons  were  appointed  by 
peers  or  nobles.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  owned 
eleven  members.  Seventy  members  were  re- 
turned by  thirty-five  places  where  there  were 
hardly  as  many  voters.  Three  hundred  mem- 
bers were  returned  to  the  House  of  Commons 
by  one  hundred  and  sixty  persons,  while 
Leeds,  Birmingham,  and  Manchester  were 
unrepresented.  Julius  Caesar  awes  us  by  the 
magnificence  of  his  schemes,  when,  in  the 
open  market,  he  pays  $2,700,000  for  a  single 
vote.  That  vote  makes  him  Consul  and  gives 
him  the  provinces  to  rob.  But  George  HI 
inspires  our  pity  when,  eighteen  hundred 
years  later,  he  publicly  dickers  for  seats  and 
votes  to  maintain  his  petty  policies.  But  with 
the  exception  of  the  infant  republic  in  Amer- 
ica, founded  on  a  compromise  with  slavery — 
a  government  which  could  not  be  classed 
above  a  doubtful  and  untested  experiment — 
this  rotten-boroughed  England  was  the  only 
constitutional  government  known  among  men. 
All  the  rest  of  the  world  was  under  the  abso- 

23 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

lutism  of  despots.  Rulers  taxed,  robbed,  con- 
scripted, butchered,  imprisoned,  executed 
their  subjects  according  to  their  caprices. 

Over  most  of  Europe  no  man  could  pray 
without  the  consent  of  the  Pope.  Not  long 
ago  the  thumb-screw  and  the  wheel  and  the 
iron  virgin  were  the  conservators  of  public 
morals,  and  the  Inquisition  kept  the  public 
conscience.  We  are  startled  when  we  remem- 
ber that  these  fierce  times  for  nations  and  des- 
perate times  for  liberties,  times  of  slow 
coaches,  bad  roads,  dark  cities,  filthy  streets, 
pestilent  homes,  sparse  food,  vulgar  habits 
and  brutal  purposes,  cruel  laws  and  bloody 
administrations, — that  these  times  of  accumu- 
lated horrors  were  in  the  full  tide  of  their 
power  and  malice  in  the  memory  of  men  still 
living  and  active.  A  single  human  life  has 
pontooned  this  gulf  between  them  and  us. 

Over  this  chasm  the  race  has  struggled  on 
at  the  hardest.  Poverty,  ignorance,  despo- 
tism, oppression,  persecution,  bigotry,  the 
fierce  and  yelping  litter  of  Perdition,  have  not 
retired  from  the  control  of  human  afTairs  vol- 
untarily. They  have  disputed  every  inch  of 
the  field.  They  have  gone  because  they  must. 
They  have  met  a  foe  too  great  for  them. 
They  have    retreated   before   that   awakened 

24 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

something  which  we  call  the  human  mind. 
In  this  presence  they  are  as  powerless  as  the 
hosts  of  Sennacherib  before  the  awakened 
wrath  of  Almighty  God.  The  awakened 
mind  has  kinship  with  God.  It  can  not  be 
captured  or  crushed  by  the  forces  of  evil 
against  its  will.  It  is  as  unapproachable  as 
the  sun  and  imperishable  as  the  throne  of  the 
Almighty.  You  may  come  with  the  forces 
of  despotism  and  assail  the  homes  of  awak- 
ened mind  and  "rob  to  the  last  vault,  burn  to 
the  last  hearth,  desecrate  to  the  last  altar,  and 
desolate  to  the  last  hamlet,  and  you  have  done 
nothing."  There  will  still  remain  the  human 
mind,  the  force  writing  all  books  and  fighting 
all  battles,  planting  all  republics  and  found- 
ing all  civilizations.  This  awakened  thought 
has  produced  the  great  uplift  of  this  nine- 
teenth century. 

Mighty  Advancing  Strides. 

See  with  what  mighty  strides  it  is  march- 
ing down  through  these  years.  It  is  most  diffi- 
cult to  even  count  the  marvelous  strides. 
Watt  and  Fulton  have  turned  all  the  currents 
in  all  rivers  to  run  according  to  the  wish  of 
every  pilot,  and  have  bidden  ocean's  tempests 
and  angry  waves  be  still,  while  the  peaceful 

25 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

argosies  of  commerce  float  safely  into  all  the 
harbors  of  the  world.  Hargraves  and  Whit- 
ney have  gone  into  the  almost  worthless  cot- 
ton field,  covered  with  the  unmelting  snow 
of  the  tropics,  and  at  one  gesture  with  their 
enchanted  wand  all  the  marts,  all  the  homes 
of  the  earth,  are  blessed  with  raiment  from 
king's  palaces.  The  great  deposits  of  coal,  the 
vast  stores  of  the  condensed  sunbeams  of  mil- 
lions of  ages,  catch  the  inspiration  of  human 
thought,  and  now  they  lift  themselves  to  the 
surface  above  the  mines,  and,  harnessed  by  in- 
ventive genius,  they  make  one  ounce  pull  a  ton 
to  the  distant  market,  and  send  the  weary 
women  and  haggard  little  children  away  to 
quiet  homes.  Franklin  and  Morse  have  made 
the  lightning  our  newsboy,  who  brings  to  our 
table  every  morning  fresh  greetings  from 
every  family  on  earth. 

There  are  now  no  foreign  lands.  The 
dogs  no  longer  have  strangers  to  worry.  We 
sit  down  with  remotest  peoples  and  chat  over 
our  morning  meal  and  visit  in  our  evening 
leisure.  We  are  one  neighborhood,  one 
family,  all  the  world  over;  so  much  one 
family  that  famine  hunts  in  vain  for  an  en- 
trance into  our  circle.  Want  anywhere  is 
filled  by  the  world's  fullness.     Hungry  Ire- 

26 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

land  eats  the  wheat  of  California  and  the  meat 
of  the  Argentine  Republic.  In  central  Mis- 
souri, the  center  of  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, I  have  eaten  Scotch  potatoes,  and  in 
Pekin  and  Constantinople  Norwegian  butter. 
So  much  are  all  lands  flowing  together  that 
want  can  make  a  vacuum  no  more  than  you 
can  dig  a  hole  in  the  sea.  The  world's  fullness 
rushes  in  to  fill  it.  There  are  more  comforts 
in  the  poor  man's  cottage  than  there  were  in 
the  palace  of  good  King  Arthur,  and  the  din- 
ner of  the  day  laborer  has  luxuries  from  more 
lands  and  climes  than  great  Caesar  ever  saw. 

This  Uplift  has  Reached  the  Great  Na- 
tions AND  Governments. 

It  began  with  the  old  Napoleon,  who 
came,  as  Carlyle  said,  on  a  ''Providential  er- 
rand, to  teach  Europe  that  the  tools  belong 
to  those  who  can  use  them."  His  code  taught 
equality.  His  victories  begat  contempt  for 
princes.  He  suggested  unity  for  Germany 
and  the  consolidation  of  Italy.  He  gave  con- 
stitutions to  Spain,  Westphalia,  and  Naples. 
He  broke  the  charm  that  sanctioned  the  tem- 
poral power  of  the  Pope.  He  trampled  down 
the  privileges  of  Feudalism.  Though  he  was 
a  practical  despot,  he  scattered  the  seeds  of 

27 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

liberty  over  Europe,  and  made  France  the 
Continental  Mother  of  Constitutional  Gov- 
ernments. He  gave  Spain  a  Constitution,  but 
he  held  her  in  his  iron  grip  till  all  her  South 
American  possessions  burst  from  her  para- 
lyzed hand  and  sprang  into  republics. 

The  first  efiforts  of  Europe  were  beaten 
back  by  military  powers  after  Waterloo.  A 
French  Bourbon  crushed  liberty  in  Spain,  an 
Austrian  Bourbon  trampled  it  down  in  Italy. 
Prussia  over-rode  the  German  States.  Russia 
devoured  Poland  and  subdued  Hungary.  Yet 
the  uplift  of  the  peoples  was  insured.  In  the 
last  thirty  years  all  Europe  has  become  consti- 
tutional. Prussia  has  an  authority  above  Bis- 
marck and  above  William  II.  Austria,  stag- 
gering from  Magenta  and  Solferino,  pur- 
chased loyalty  by  a  constitution.  The  repub- 
lic of  Sardinia  and  the  battle  of  Sadowa  gave 
Italy  unity  and  liberty.  Spain  dismissed  her 
queen  and  seated  the  new  king  on  a  constitu- 
tion. France  sits  a  free  maiden,  rejoicing  in 
her  beauty  and  liberty,  and  Great  Britain — ■ 
I  like  to  say  Great  Britain — has  purged  her 
governments  from  prerogatives  offensive  to 
the  people.  Civil  and  religious  liberty  walk 
over  Europe  as  if  they  owned  every  inch  of  it. 
The  cells  of  the  Inquisition  are  sealed,  and 

28 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

Leo  XIII,  relieved  of  temporal  power,  with 
a  princely  salary  from  the  Italian  govern- 
ment, poses  on  the  steps  of  St.  Peter's  as  a 
prisoner. 

In  one  short  lifetime  men  have  sprung 
from  being  the  toy  for  the  amusement  of 
princes,  and  tools  for  the  use  of  kings,  to  the 
front  rank  of  power.  The  common  man 
plows  his  field  and  plays  with  his  babe,  not 
because  the  king  or  president  graciously  per- 
mits him  to  do  so,  but  because  that  is  his  own 
wish,  because  he  has  a  mind  to.  And  the  king 
or  president  sits  on  his  throne  or  chair  of  state, 
not  because  of  any  fiction  of  a  Divine  right, 
but  because  the  common  man  wants  him  to 
sit  there,  because  the  common  man  thinks  such 
a  scheme  best  for  the  present  times. 

We  have  leaped,  in  this  one  century,  from 
a  race  of  princes,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on 
the  other,  materials  for  the  use  of  govern- 
ments— food  for  powder — to  the  Brotherhood 
of  Man.  All  the  great  industries  grow  in  all 
congenial  soils.  Every  civilization  borrows 
from  every  other.  Primarily  we  receive  our 
calico  printing  from  India,  our  silk  and  glass 
from  Italy,  our  paper  and  cotton  printing  and 
some  silk-weaving  from  France,  our  potteries 
and    cloth-dyeing    and    windmills    from    the 

29 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Dutch,  our  linen-weaving  from  Tuscany,  and 
our  ship-building  from  the  Genoese  and  the 
Danes,  with  now  and  then  a  monitor  thrown 
in  at  a  critical  moment.  We  receive  our  pride 
and  impudence,  and  pluck  and  patrimony, 
and  our  swing  of  conquest,  from  Mother  Eng- 
land. We  pay  them  all  back  in  wheat,  and 
beef,  and  pork,  and  gold,  and  globe-trotters, 
and  sturdy  love  of  liberty,  and  generous  defi- 
nitions of  our  rights,  and  manly  courage  to 
defend  them. 

We  have  leaped  forward  into  most  mar- 
velous, almost  millennial  times.  We  now 
have  rich  and  rare  nutriments  for  our  bodies, 
remedies  and  nursing  for  our  diseases,  sym- 
pathies and  fellowships  for  our  sorrows,  safe 
and  enjoyable  gatherings  for  our  sociabilities, 
and  for  our  citizens  open  doors  and  open 
paths  from  the  poor  man's  cabin  to  the  pal- 
aces of  wealth  and  power,  open  seas  and  open 
lands  through  every  zone  and  under  all  stars. 

For  our  minds  we  have  such  facts  and 
feats  as  beckoned  to  scholars  never  before. 
We  send  the  living  voice  to  our  friends  a 
thousand  miles  as  easily  as  our  mother's  voice 
spanned  the  nursery  of  childhood.  We  speak 
round  the  globe,  and  catch  the  click  and  clat- 
ter of  the  copper  hoofs  of  the  returning  light- 

30 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

ning,  before  our  breath  that  uttered  the  word 
has  faded  on  the  frosty  air.  More  than  this, 
we  now  call  back  the  voices  of  the  dead  and 
hear  from  our  cunning  machine  the  same  ac- 
cents that  charmed  us  before  the  loved  bodies 
crumbled  back  to  dust.  We  have  stretched 
our  measuring-tape  along  the  diameter  of  the 
known  universe  so  far  that  it  would  take  our 
fastest  express  train,  running  a  mile  a  minute, 
twenty-four  hours  a  day,  without  stopping  or 
resting,  on  and  on,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
trillions  of  centuries,  to  pass  the  length  of  that 
tape-line.  We  sweep  round  after  yonder 
planets  in  their  wide  orbits,  with  such  careful 
and  certain  step  that  we  can  tell,  centuries  in 
advance,  the  time  of  the  crossing  a  given  line 
within  the  twentieth  part  of  a  second.  We 
can  measure  distances  down  to  the  millionth 
of  an  inch,  and  with  the  spectroscope  catch 
and  analyze  the  materials  that  melted  on  dis- 
tant stars  thirty  thousand  years  ago.  We  can 
almost  smell  the  steaks  the  demi-gods  cooked 
in  those  distant  spheres  three  hundred  cen- 
turies since. 

It  is  impossible  to  look  from  the  poverty, 
want,  narrowness,  coarseness,  slowness,  bru- 
tality, of  the  first  quarter  of  this  last  century, 
to  the  light,  and  speed,  and  swift  mails,  and 

31 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

cheap  postage,  and  sulphur  matches,  and  ele- 
vators, and  multiplied  newspapers,  and  tele- 
graphs, and  telephones,  and  steam  presses, 
and  ocean  greyhounds,  and  vast  Bible  socie- 
ties, and  unbounded  missionary  societies,  and 
countless  organized  charities,  and  common 
schools,  and  uncommon  colleges,  and  most 
uncommon  universities,  and  vast  fortunes,  and 
great  armies  of  millionaires,  and  unprece- 
dented comforts  for  the  common  people,  and 
unexampled  luxuries  for  the  rich;  it  is  im- 
possible to  sweep  up  this  uplift  of  this  century 
and  not  feel  that  we  are  being  propelled  up 
and  out  into  the  twentieth  century  with  agen- 
cies, and  appliances,  and  forces,  and  opportu- 
nities, and  responsibilities,  such  as  never  en- 
vironed the  race  before.  Running  down  the 
line  of  these  accumulating,"^  accelerating 
forces  of  this  century,  on  to  the  spring-board 
of  the  present  achievements,  it  is  most  diffi- 
cult to  tell  to  what  point  we  will  leap  in  the 
twentieth  century,  to  forecast  what  the  twen- 
tieth century  will  bring  forth.  Geometrical 
ratios  are  required  for  this  problem.  This 
much  must  be  evident,  that  the  old  methods 
and  plans  can  not  be  revived  and  continued. 
The  wooden  frigate  must  go  into  dry-dock 
and  leave  the  seas  open  to  steel  cruisers.    We 

32 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

are  in  a  new  age,  with  new  conditions  and  gi- 
gantic energies.  We  must  think,  and  plan, 
and  give,  in  keeping  with  our  time. 

There  are  Some  Things  that  Must 
Remain. 

Some  people  fancy  that  in  the  pressure  of 
modern  activity  and  of  modified  agencies,  we 
shall  shed  all  the  claims  and  means  of  the 
gospel ;  that  the  Old  Testament  with  its  deca- 
logue, and  the  New  Testament  with  its  atone- 
ment, must  yield  to  the  speed  of  this  age,  and 
leave  men  to  assimilate  from  the  common 
atmosphere  whatever  suits  them — that  a  lit- 
erary club  or  amusement  circle  will  supersede 
the  regularity  and  sacrifices  of  the  Church — 
that  a  good-natured  humanitarian  socialism 
that  depends  upon  good  digestion  will  meet 
all  the  requirements  of  the  coming  time.  But 
in  all  this  the  calculations  and  conclusions 
are  confined  only  to  a  few  appearances.  It  is 
like  sailing  a  ship  on  the  foam  from  its  own 
prow.  There  must  remain  the  great  depth  of 
the  living,  restless,  untamed  sea,  and  the  re- 
sistless blows  of  the  propeller.  The  foam  is 
an  incident  of  the  friction.  Our  speed  must 
not  deceive  us.  It  seems  almost  a  mean  thing 
for  these  clubs  to  pilfer  from  the  common 
3  33 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

atmosphere  the  vitality  and  fragrance  of  the 
gospel,  use  them  under  the  protecting  shield 
of  Christian  obligation  for  selfish  and  rebel- 
lious purposes  through  a  whole  lifetime  by 
the  patient  mercy  of  their  authors,  and  then 
flatly  deny  the  debt. 

Some  Things  Must  Remain. 

We  may  be  sure  of  this,  that  as  Nature 
contains  all  that  our  bodies  can  require  or 
profit  by  in  this  life,  provided  we  only  have 
the  patience  and  skill  to  find  and  appropriate 
it,  so  the  gospel  contains  the  supply  of  every 
spiritual  want,  provided  only  we  have  the 
patience  to  study  and  appropriate  it.  The 
gospel  itself,  the  Good  News,  Peace  on  Earth 
and  Good  Will  toward  men,  must  abide  as 
long  as  there  is  a  man  needing  Good  Will 
and  the  Peace  of  God.  The  human  heart  is 
about  the  same  in  all  ages,  needing  the  same 
cure  for  its  deep  malady,  sin.  Whatever  else 
fails,  this  foundation  of  all  religions,  the  need 
of  a  remedy  for  sin,  will  remain.  Any  system 
of  religion  that  omits  or  makes  light  of  sin, 
can  not  suit  our  case.  The  blind  man  scaling 
the  divide,  following  a  dangerous  trail,  has 
one  supreme  want,  a  guide.  Flowers  will  not 
satisfy  him.     Music  is  not  enough.     Invisible 

34 


PROBLEAIS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

scenery  of  the  rarest  beauty  will  not  suffice. 
He  must  have  a  guide;  without  this  nothing 
avails.  Flowers  but  deck  his  way  to  death ; 
music  only  allures  him  to  destruction;  scenery 
but  mocks  his  helplessness;  cost  what  it  may, 
he  must  have  a  guide.  So  humanity  must 
have  some  cure  for  sin.  No  system  has  helped 
and  long  held  humanity,  without  this.  We 
can  count  on  this  as  permanent  in  spite  of  all 
possible  changes  of  methods  and  machinery. 
We  can  also  count  upon  the  authority  of 
the  Bible  as  the  Book  of  God.  Reduced  to 
the  level  of  mere  human  productions,  it  will 
lose  its  hold  upon  man  and  society.  Phi- 
losophy is  only  shifting  sand.  No  scholar  fol- 
lows the  dictum  of  any  other.  It  is  every  man 
for  his  own  judgment.  Then  there  would  be 
no  standard,  no  authority,  no  supreme  court 
of  final  appeal.  A  religion  without  an 
authoritative  Word  would  be  no  better  than 
a  religion  without  a  God.  Such  is  the  consti- 
tution of  the  human  mind  that  it  must  find 
some  being  towering  above  the  level  plane  of 
its  finite  capacities.  And  it  must  have  the 
dictum  of  such  a  Being  to  guide  its  wander- 
ings in  the  untried  beyond.  The  issues  even 
between  the  priest  and  the  sexton,  between  the 
philosopher  and  the  porter,  between  the  sci- 

35 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

entist  and  his  scullion,  would  be  Irreconcil- 
able in  questions  of  destiny,  were  there  no  su- 
preme authority  above  all,  saying:  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord."  While  mortals  journey  over 
the  sea  of  probation,  this  divine  Book  will  be 
their  chart. 

This  book  has  been  much  assailed.  Every 
weapon  known  to  man  has  been  used  against 
It.  Persecution  has  kindled  its  fires  on  almost 
every  page.  Everywhere  through  it  you  can 
see  where  stakes  have  been  driven  and  fagots 
lighted.  Bigotry  has  even  broken  the  tablets 
of  the  Decalogue  for  weapons  with  which  to 
wound  it.  For  almost  every  verse  some  heroic 
soul  has  dared  to  die.  Every  new  science  has 
snapped  at  it.  As  the  offspring  of  the  blood- 
hound, before  Its  eyes  are  open,  may  announce 
Its  advent  Into  the  world  by  snapping  at  its 
mother,  and  later,  with  open  eyes  follow  her 
in  filial  obedience,  so  a  new  science  Is  wont 
to  make  known  Its  existence  by  snarling  and 
snapping  at  this  Word;  yet  when  Its  eyes  are 
open  and  its  vision  is  clarified,  then  It  always 
follows  gladly  and  renders  valuable  and  filial 
service. 

Go  down  to  the  harbor  yonder.  There  is 
the  City  of  Peking,  a  stately  ocean  craft.  Go 
on  board  of  her.     She  carries  a  respectable 

36 


PROBLEMS  OF  THP:  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

little  city,  and  embodies  the  practical  knowl- 
edge of  a  whole  civilization.  Her  head  is  set 
out  for  the  Golden  Gate.  She  means  to  pass 
that,  and  pass  the  Great  Sea,  and  go  to  the 
docks  of  populous  Asia.  But  down  here  at 
the  wharf,  while  she  lingers  in  the  quiet  wa- 
ters by  the  pier,  a  little  barnacle,  without 
known  use  or  comeliness,  attaches  to  the  Pe- 
king and  sticks  fast.  That  is  all  it  does,  to 
stick  and  hinder  a  little.  The  great  steamer 
pushes  out  through  the  Gate  yonder,  and 
plows  through  the  sea  for  days,  till  by  and  by 
she  comes  up  to  the  dock  in  Hong  Kong,  with 
her  great  cargo  of  wealth  and  life.  She  has 
borne  the  products  of  a  great  civilization  to 
the  shores  of  heathenism.  She  has  trans- 
ported the  teachers  of  the  living  God  into  the 
bosom  of  paganism.  She  has  done  something. 
She  has  a  right  to  unfurl  a  Christian  flag 
above  her  decks.  But  there,  too,  under  the 
water,  in  the  filth  by  a  heathen  dock,  is  the 
barnacle,  and  it  says:  "See  me.  I  have  navi- 
gated the  great  sea — crossed  the  great  Pacific. 
All  this  talk  about  the  Peking  and  its  power 
is  vain  boasting."  Here  is  this  stately  old 
Book  of  God,  freighted  with  life  and  immor- 
tality, navigating  the  sea  of  the  centuries,  car- 
rying  peaceful    men,   gentle   w^omen,    happy 

37 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

children,  all  that  is  dear  to  the  race.  She 
makes  safe  landing  on  our  shores,  and  dis- 
charges into  our  bosoms  the  peace  and  joys 
of  this  life  and  the  hopes  and  glory  of  the  life 
to  come.  Surely  she  has  a  right  to  float  the 
radiant  banner  of  King  Immanuel.  But  down 
there,  fast  to  her  keel,  hindering  her  speed 
and  trying  to  scuttle  her,  is  the  poor  skeptic, 
saying:  "See  me.  I  have  made  this  great 
voyage.  The  Bible  has  not  done  more." 
Brothers,  be  not  deceived.  This  old  Book, 
with  divine  authority,  will  remain.  About 
once  in  a  generation  thoughtful  men  go  down 
and  knock  ofif  the  barnacles,  and  find  that  she 
is  always  seaworthy  and  able  to  sail  swifter 
than  ever.  With  God's  cure  for  sin,  and 
with  divine  authority  in  the  Book  of  God, 
we  can  sail  over  any  sea  and  into  any  storm, 
without  the  slightest  peril  or  fear.  Narrower 
creeds  may  be  changed  for  wider  ones,  slower 
methods  for  swifter  ones,  the  tithing  of  mint 
and  anise  and  cummin  may  be  concealed  by 
the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  justice,  and 
mercy;  yet  we  shall  take  up  the  work  before 
us  with  larger  success  than  in  the  past.  We 
can  take  up  the  twentieth  century  with  the 
full  assurance  of  faith. 


38 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

Many  Problems. 

It  is  impossible  to  stand  here  this  day  with 
the  accumulated  forces  of  the  past  about  us, 
and  not  see  much  that  is  demanded  of  us. 
We  are  confronted  by  a  multitude  of  prob- 
lems. They  stand  before  us  with  grim  faces 
and  knotted  features.  They  block  the  way 
into  the  future.  They  must  be  met  and  an- 
swered. Look  at  them.  Some  of  these  prob- 
lems we  can  only  catalogue  and  briefly  touch. 

Labor  and  Capital. 

The  intense  and  ever  waxing  contest  be- 
tween labor  and  capital  towers  above  us. 
With  its  swinging  weapons  it  casts  shadowy 
interrogation  marks  upon  the  sky  which 
make  fair-minded  men  meditate.  We  cry 
out,  ''Commune!"  and  conjure  up  the  cruel 
and  brutal  scenes  in  Paris  from  the  days  of 
Robespierre  to  the  fall  of  Louis  Napoleon. 
We  repeat  the  misnomer  of  the  Russian 
authorities,  "Nihilist!"  and  find  ourselves 
bracing  in  our  minds  against  a  mob  of  ma- 
niacs who  have  declared  war  against  order, 
and  law,  and  religion,  and  morals,  and  all  the 
established  rights  of  men.  Clothing  our  fears 
in  these   fearful  uniforms,   we   resort  to  the 

39 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

means  that  insure  only  failure;  viz.,  deceiving 
ourselves  and  multiplying  our  enemies. 
Stripped  of  all  these  opprobious  epithets,  and 
calmly  clothed  upon  with  the  facts,  the  strife 
between  labor  and  capital  is  a  real  strife, 
with  real  rights  and  forces  on  both  sides. 

Here  is  a  great  multitude  of  fairly  edu- 
cated men,  well  read  in  their  several  depart- 
ments of  industry,  engaged  in  enterprises  too 
vast  for  a  single  hand.  They  are  caught  up 
by  that  immense  machine  called  a  corpora- 
tion. They  are  pushed  back  to  do  some  par- 
ticular part  of  the  work.  They  find  them- 
selves polishing  a  pin-head,  or  threading  a 
screw,  or  balancing  a  wheel,  or  cutting  a  cog; 
that  is  all.  All  put  together,  the  work  of  all 
secures  a  complete  result.  That  result  is  not 
theirs.  It  belongs  to  some  one  else;  to  the 
corporation;  to  the  man  controlling  the  cor- 
poration. Their  w^ages  are  small,  enough  to 
keep  life  and  furnish  a  few  cheap  papers  that 
discuss  their  wrongs.  They  do  not  see  why 
they  should  work  ten  hours,  live  on  coarse 
fare,  wear  rough  clothing,  have  no  vacation 
for  themselves,  no  fair  chance  for  their  chil- 
dren, no  adornments  for  their  homes,  no  car- 
riages for  their  families,  no  outlook  of  little 
journeys;  have  nothing  but  drudgery  and  nar- 

40 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

rowness,  and  almost  want.  They  have  as 
much  brain,  themselves  being  judges,  and  as 
much  manhood,  and  as  high  honor,  and  as 
much  domestic  loyalty,  as  have  the  men  who, 
by  some  turn  of  fortune,  secure  all  the  great 
salaries,  all  the  multiplied  comforts,  and  all 
the  leisure.  These  men,  in  their  one-sided 
way,  look  thus  at  life,  and  they  must  ask,  Why? 
They  must  wonder  if  it  must  always  be  so 
with  them  and  with  their  children.  Wonder- 
ing, they  think.  Thinking,  they  talk.  Talk- 
ing, they  become  excited  and  decided,  and  we 
confront  the  uprising  of  Labor  demanding  in 
some  awakened  way,  yet  demanding  a  fair 
chance,  a  new  divide.  No  matter  that  a  di- 
vide would  only  aggravate  their  need  in  a  few 
weeks.  No  matter  that  all  strikes  always 
hurt  the  strikers.  There  they  stand,  filling  the 
highway  into  the  future.  There  is  no  going 
round  them.  There  is  no  cutting  a  canal  back 
of  this  Vicksburg  with  some  labor-saving  ma- 
chine. There  they  stand.  It  is  not  possible 
to  legislate  them  out  of  existence  without  first 
removing  their  ground  of  complaint,  if  they 
have  any.  You  might  as  well  legislate  on  the 
thermometer.  There  they  are,  and  we  must 
in  some  way  let  the  light  into  their  darkness. 
There  is  room  enough  on  the  earth  for  all 
41 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

of  us,  with  proper  surveys.  But  if  one  now 
has  property  larger  in  value  than  four  States, 
and  another  owns  the  equivalent  of  three 
more,  and  then  a  few  hundred  seize  upon  a 
large  per  cent  of  w^hat  is  left,  that  survey  does 
not  leave  room  enough  for  the  rest  of  the 
people.  Crowded  on  the  remnant  of  the 
island  they  are  sure  to  crowd  somebody. 
Then  the  few  must  have  help  to  keep  what 
they  have.  The  republic  can  not  help  them. 
For  a  government  of  the  people  and  by  the 
people  must  be  for  the  people,  not  against  the 
people.  Then  the  few  must  yield  or  call  for 
the  7nan  on  horseback.  Somebody  must  solve 
this  great  problem. 

Possible  Solution. 

The  solution  of  such  a  problem  can  not 
be  found  on  the  surface  or  in  distant  regions. 
It  must  be  found  in  the  elements  themselves. 
It  must  come  from  the  parties  interested. 
This  means  thoughtfulness  and  careful  broth- 
erly consideration  of  all  the  interests  involved. 
The  method  of  settlement  adopted  by  the 
Iron  Molders'  Union  and  the  Stove  Manufac- 
turers' Protective  Society  (or  some  name  like 
this)  approximates  success.  It  centers  about 
the  principle  of  arbitration  without  an  outside 

42 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

arbitrator.  Experience  has  demonstrated  that 
the  middleman,  the  arbitrator,  can  not  avoid 
the  gravitation  that  comes  from  large  num- 
bers in  a  community  where  votes  settle  public 
questions.  This  element  of  weakness  is  elimi- 
nated by  referring  differences  to  a  commission 
of  five  from  each  interested  party  and  keeping 
them  together  till  they  agree.  Contact  and 
personal  acquaintance  lead  to  fuller  consider- 
ation of  all  the  interests  involved.  So  far, 
success  has  crowned  these  conferences.  It 
catches  inspiration  from  the  brotherly  side — 
the  heavenly  side. 

I  can  see  but  one  direction  in  which  to  look 
for  a  solution.  That  is  where  the  root  of  the 
evil  lies;  viz.,  in  finding  a  true  standard  of 
values.  The  remedy  must  reach  the  seat  of 
the  disease.  The  spirit  of  that  kingdom 
which  is  not  of  this  world,  set  at  liberty  in 
the  bosoms  of  men,  will  find  the  brothers'  way 
through  it.  Nothing  less  will.  The  outcome 
of  the  lives  of  Dives  and  Lazarus,  carefully 
studied,  will  close  this  yawning  chasm  here, 
and  close  ''the  great  gulf  fixed"  on  the  other 
side.  Let  Capital  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven, 
and  make  for  itself  friends  of  the  mammon  of 
unrighteousness,  and  let  Labor  seek  the  con- 
tentment that,  with  godliness,  is  great  gain; 

43 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

seek  that  divine  charity,  that  divine  love,  that 
seeketh  not  her  own.  Capital  and  Labor  must 
secure  a  Sabbath  for  rest  and  spiritual 
growth,  must  give  the  gospel  a  fair  chance; 
then  six  days  will  be  worth  more  than  seven. 
The  sense  of  eternal  obligation  will  make 
men  free,  and  capital  safe.  But  who  can 
bring  us  to  this  wisdom?  It  seems  too  high 
for  us.  Hear  me,  O  ye  worldly,  genial,  fairly 
liberal  men ;  ye  self-complacent  men,  hear 
me!  The  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  given  a 
fair  chance,  will  solve  this  problem.  Nothing 
else  can.  In  forgetting  God's  claims  and 
alienating  Christianity,  you  drive  out  the  only 
efficient  police.  Nobody  but  God  can  protect 
from  assassination,  and  nobody  but  God  can 
make  both  life  and  property  safe.  Without 
God  we  are  utterly  hopeless  in  the  presence 
of  this  problem  that  must  be  solved.  In  Rus- 
kin's  figure  we  find  our  helplessness  and  God's 
power.  I  take  up  a  handful  of  slime.  There 
is  nothing  I  can  make  of  it  except  filth,  which 
I  fain  would  wash  from  my  hand.  It  con- 
tains clay,  sand,  soot,  and  water,  but  all  I 
can  make  of  them  is  slime.  Not  so  with  God. 
He  touches  them.  Behold  the  transforma- 
tion! The  clay  is  pressed  into  its  closest  com- 
pass, its  particles  brought  together  become  a 

44 


PROELE^VIS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

sapphire;  the  sand  turns  over  an  opal;  the 
soot  sparkles  in  all  the  beauty  and  power  of 
the  diamond,  and  the  moisture  becomes  a 
dew-drop.  I  can  make  nothing  of  these  but 
loathsome  slime.  God  has  only  to  touch 
them,  and  we  have  jewels  fit  to  adorn  the 
brow  of  a  royal  bride.  So  it  is  with  these 
confused  elements  making  up  the  conflict  be- 
tween capital  and  labor.  The  best  I  can  do 
with  them  is  to  make  that  fearful  thing  w^hich 
we  call  "a  strike."  But  God  needs  only  to 
breathe  upon  them,  and  see,  what  miracles  of 
power  and  grace!  Each  member  and  element 
of  society  finds  its  rightful  place,  and  together 
they  make  up  a  royal  crown  worthy  of  the 
Redeemer's  brow.  Give  the  gospel  a  fair 
chance,  and  it  will  settle  all  these  great  social 
problems. 

Childhood. 

Another  problem  standing  in  the  door  of 
the  twentieth  century  is  Childhood.  It  is  full 
of  charms  and  loveliness.  But  it  is  also  full 
of  interrogation  points.  Why  is  it  flung  into 
existence  among  the  Hostiles,  as  if  it  were 
sent  here  only  to  be  scalped?  Is  it  only  a 
tatter  to  rot  in  the  gutter?  Has  it  not  a  right 
to  at  least  a  fair  start?    Is  it  an  enemy  that  it 

45 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

must  be  attacked  with  whole  packs  of  dis- 
eases, even  before  it  arrives  here?  If  it  comes 
to  the  service  of  the  State  and  into  the  bosom 
of  the  Church,  born  into  a  Kingdom  of  relief, 
no  choice  of  the  door  by  which  it  shall  enter, 
is  not  some  one  under  obligations  to  see  that  it 
is  not  enslaved  before  it  breathes?  The 
Church,  the  Sunday-school,  the  Common 
School,  the  Kindergarten,  do  much  for  it. 
But  they  come  too  late  to  do  the  best  for  child- 
hood. The  twentieth  century  will  develop  a 
perfect  manhood  by  better  care  for  childhood, 
and  by  sweetening  and  purifying  the  springs 
of  life.  The  wisdom  and  care  that  makes  the 
horses  of  California  the  pride  of  the  nation, 
can  make  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  the 
Golden  West  and  of  the  great  North  Ameri- 
can Republic  the  pride  and  glory  of  mankind. 

Care  of  the  Bodies  of  Men. 

Another  problem  at  the  door  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  is  care  for  the  bodies  of  men. 
This  is  pre-eminently  a  Protestant  Problem. 
The  demand  of  the  age  in  education  is  for 
applied  science.  The  institutions  that  meet 
this  demand  have  the  right  of  way.  So  in 
religion  and  sociology  there  is  a  demand  for 
applied  theology.     That  system  of  faith  that 

46 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

meets  this  demand  the  best  will  have  the  right 
of  way.  With  cities  full  of  unfed,  unwashed, 
unemployed,  untaught  Americans,  there  must 
be  less  struggling  about  the  infinitely  little 
and  the  infinitely  remote,  and  more  attention 
to  the  weightier  matters  of  a  chance — not  a 
fair  chance — but  a  chance  for  this  life,  and 
the  life  to  come.  The  world  cares  more  for 
what  we  live  than  for  what  we  profess.  The 
Mayor  of  Nagoya,  the  second  or  third  city 
of  Japan,  a  solid  old  heathen,  a  man  of  sub- 
stantial character,  who  had  been  mayor  for 
thirteen  years,  called  the  ''Grant  of  Japan" — 
this  man  said  to  me:  "I  have  watched  your 
people,  your  converts,  and  if  all  my  people 
were  Christians  I  would  have  little  to  do  as 
mayor — my  work  would  be  light." 

We  have  in  our  midst  a  strong  Church, 
with  little  to  commend  her  in  her  false  and 
foolish  dogmas,  in  constant  antagonism  to  the 
educated  mind  of  the  age  and  in  mortal  com- 
bat with  our  free  institutions,  the  old  and 
sworn  enemy  of  liberty,  and  handicapped 
with  the  worst,  most  cruel,  and  most  bloody 
history  known  among  men,  a  Church  that  has 
blighted  every  people  she  has  touched,  robbed 
and  ruined  every  country  she  has  mastered, 
dwarfed   and   deformed   every   race   she   has 

47 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

taught;  yet  in  spite  of  her  bigotry,  and  blas- 
phemy, and  hostility  to  liberty,  and  bloody 
history,  and  boast  that  she  never  changes,  by 
the  power  there  is  in  her  apparent  works  of 
charity,  her  care  for  children,  and  for  the  sick, 
she  is  tolerated  in  this  free  land,  and  aspires 
to  dominion  over  the  Republic. 

Protestantism  must  learn  wisdom  from 
her;  and,  remembering  that  Jesus  went  into 
soul-saving  through  body-saving,  she  must 
multiply  her  agencies  for  the  care  of  the  sick, 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  for  the  employment 
of  the  unemployed,  for  the  care  of  the  or- 
phans, so  there  shall  be  no  legitimate  want  un- 
met by  the  Christian  Church.  Our  Protes- 
tantism of  the  twentieth  century  must  create 
these  material  and  merciful  agencies,  and  fill 
them  with  sisters  and  deaconesses,  till  all  men 
shall  see  the  faith  of  the  New  Testament  shin- 
ing in  every  open  door  of  want. 

Cities. 

Foremost  stands  the  Problem  of  the  Sal- 
vation of  Our  Cities.  This  is  the  great  prac- 
tical problem  which  the  twentieth  century 
must  solve.  It  is  vast.  It  is  complex.  It  is 
vital.  It  is  fundamental.  It  is  strategical. 
It  is  ubiquitous.     It  is  at  hand.     Our  fathers 

48 


PROBLExMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

never  confronted  it.  It  did  not  exist  in  their 
day.  They  were  here  a  century  ago  to  tame 
a  wilderness,  not  to  govern  cities.  They 
sought  fortunes  and  power  in  the  country,  not 
in  the  city.  The  dominant  characters  were 
country  gentlemen,  not  city  millionaires.  The 
men  eminent  for  evil  were  highwaymen,  not 
"slummers."  Washington  surrendered  New 
York  to  the  British,  but  he  held  the  country, 
and  saved  the  cause.  Then  only  one  in  thirty 
of  our  population  lived  in  cities  and  large 
towns  of  eight  thousand  and  upwards,  and 
there  were  only  six  of  those  centers,  even  as 
late  as  1800.  That  thirtieth  man  could  be 
captured  or  shot,  and  leave  the  country  free 
and  self-reliant.  To-day  things  are  changed. 
The  country  has  moved  into  the  city.  It  has 
been  a  steady  migration,  steady  gravitation 
toward  centers.  Now  more  than  one-fourth 
of  all  our  people  live  in  cities,  and  we  have 
four  hundred  and  thirty-seven  of  these  nerve 
centers,  ganglions  of  peril.  The  population 
has  increased  twenty-fold.  But  these  storm- 
centers  have  multiplied  seventy-two-fold. 
The  great  German  statesman  Bismarck  has 
described  cities  as  ''ulcers,  cancers  on  the  body 
politic."  He  made  some  reputation  by  rec- 
ommending that  they  be  disbanded  and  scat- 
4  49 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

tered.  This  was  radical;  yet  the  perils  are 
imminent. 

Cities  are  the  forts,  strategical  strong- 
holds. Whoever  gets  in  holds  the  future. 
They  are  the  objective  point  to  which  the 
great  invading  army,  the  army  of  invasion 
and  occupation,  is  marching.  These  foreign 
forces  are  marching  into  these  citadels  every 
hour  in  the  day  and  night,  and  every  day  in 
the  year.  Since  we  came  from  Appomattox, 
three  times  as  great  an  army  as  all  the  armies 
of  the  South  have  filed  in  and  taken  posses- 
sion; more  than  five  times  as  many  as  all  the 
hordes  of  Goths  and  Vandals  that  over-ran 
and  trampled  down  Rome.  They  have  come 
with  no  idea  of  self-government,  no  practice 
in  free  institutions,  no  habit  of  self-control. 
They  bring  all  the  peculiarities  and  disabili- 
ties that  uncounted  generations  of  ignorance 
and  oppression  could  engender.  They  form 
political  muck  on  which  grow  large  crops  of 
demagogism.  They  are  social  swamps  ex- 
haling miasma,  generating  fevers,  distempers, 
plagues,  and  pestilences. 

See  what  our  cities  are!  You  can  hardly 
walk  a  single  block  on  Market  Street  at  cer- 
tain hours  without  walking  through  the  capi- 
tals of  all  the  great  nations.    You  can  hear  the 

50 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

babble  or  brogue  of  many  languages.  While 
only  one-third  of  our  entire  population  is 
foreign  by  birth  or  parentage,  the  proportion 
in  our  cities  is  much  greater.  Cincinnati  has 
sixty-two  per  cent  of  her  population  foreign, 
by  birth  or  parentage.  Boston,  great,  patri- 
otic, revolutionary,  historical  Boston,  has 
sixty-three;  Cleveland  has  sixty-nine;  New 
York,  great  cosmopolitan  New  York,  has 
eighty-eight  per  cent;  and  Chicago,  young, 
aggressive.  Western  Chicago,  has  ninety-one 
per  cent;  and  to  judge  by  the  gibberings  and 
brogues  of  the  street,  San  Francisco  must  have 
two  hundred  per  cent.  Argument,  in  the 
presence  of  these  figures,   is  unnecessary. 

There  was  in  1880  one  evangelical  Church 
to  every  five  hundred  and  sixteen  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States.  But  in  these 
great  centers  of  life  the  Church  accommoda- 
tion is  much  less.  In  Boston  it  is  one  to  six- 
teen hundred;  in  Chicago,  one  to  two  thou- 
sand and  eighty-one ;  in  New  York,  one  to  two 
thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-eight;  in 
St.  Louis,  one  to  two  thousand  eight  hundred. 
While  the  population  in  the  United  States  in- 
creased in  ten  years  thirty  per  cent,  criminals 
increased  eighty-two  per  cent.  The  forces  are 
liberated  that  will  largely  multiply  this  in- 

51 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

crease.  In  the  great  section  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi there  was,  in  1880,  one  saloon  to  every 
four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  of  the  popula- 
tion; in  Boston,  one  to  three  hundred  and 
twenty-nine;  in  Cleveland,  one  to  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two;  in  Chicago,  one  to  one 
hundred  and  seventy-one;  in  Cincinnati,  one 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty-four;  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, one  to  less  than  one  hundred. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  thoughtful  man  to 
contemplate  these  prodigious  figures  and  not 
see  that  these  cities  present  the  problem  of  the 
destiny  of  the  Republic,  and  of  our  civiliza- 
tion. These  cities  are  the  passes  between  the 
present  and  the  future.  These  great,  undi- 
gested, un-Americanized  multitudes,  pressed 
with  evil  habits,  disqualified  with  alien  preju- 
dices, burdened  with  alcoholism,  herded  and 
driven  with  Bossism  and  armed  with  ballots, 
and  largely  directed  by  the  old  man  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tiber,  form  a  double  peril  to  our 
institutions;  first  a  thunderbolt  from  heaven 
that  shatters  the  altars  of  religion,  and,  sec- 
ond, an  earthquake  from  beneath,  upheaving 
the  foundations  of  patriotism  itself. 


52 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

These  Cities  are  Dictators. 

Whatever  these  cities  dictate,  the  country 
must  accept.  As  go  the  great  cities,  so  goes 
the  State  and  so  goes  the  Nation.  Cities  with- 
out religion  mean  States  without  a  Sabbath, 
and  States  without  a  Sabbath  mean  a  nation 
without  a  God.  History  reveals  but  one  exit, 
one  road  and  gate  for  such  a  people,  and  that 
is  the  broad  road  with  the  wide  gate  that  leads 
to  destruction.  When  we  see  a  man  falling 
from  the  roof  of  a  ten-story  building  toward 
the  pavement,  we  instinctively  and  truthfully 
cry  out :  "O,  he  is  killed !  He  is  a  dead  man !" 
and  that  long  before  he  strikes  the  pavement. 
We  know  that  the  forces  are  liberated  which 
will  kill  him,  unless  some  power  intervenes 
in  his  behalf.  So  when  we  look  at  the  evil 
forces  accumulated  in  these  great  and  rapidly 
growing  cities,  we  know  that  destruction  is 
only  a  question  of  time,  unless  some  almighty 
remedial  agency  intervenes.  The  great,  the 
all-important  problem  which  we  want  to 
solve  is,  ^^How  shall  we  save  these  cities F'^ 
Brothers,  are  we  comprehending  our  task? 
Are  we  accurately  measuring  its  difficulties? 
Are  we  equal  to  the  hour  of  our  time?  Are 
we   going  up    to   the   judgment-seat   of   Al- 

53 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

mighty  God  with  a  report  that  we  stood  in 
our  places  like  men,  and  answered  all  the  ob- 
ligations that  we  met  in  life?  For  one,  I 
tremble  when  I  step  into  the  shadow  of  that 
Throne. 

The  Doomed. 

There  is  a  great  and  increasing  multitude 
in  these  cities,  and  in  this  city,  and  in  every 
great  city,  that  are  wedged  away  from  past 
restraints,  fenced  out  of  present  opportunities 
for  life,  shut  up  to  companionship  and  courses 
that  have  no  light  from  above,  that  are  guided 
only  by  glaring  bull's  eyes  in  the  sidewalk  be- 
neath their  feet.  Their  steps  take  hold  on 
hell.  There  are  young  but  well-matured 
Darkest  Americas  in  our  great  cities,  as  cer- 
tainly as  there  is  a  Darkest  England  in  Lon- 
don. There  are  men  who,  by  bad  inheritance, 
or  bad  management,  or  bad  purpose,  are 
starved  into  the  fellowship  of  thieves,  and 
w^omen,  who,  by  forces  which  they  can  not 
now  mend,  are  shut  down  to  the  companion- 
ship and  practices  of  prostitutes.  They 
darken  and  degrade  every  great  city.  We  do 
not  count  them  in  as  any  part  of  the  problem, 
except  so  far  as  the  police  and  the  undertaker 
may  take  them  out  of  our  calculations.     But 

54 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

that  treatment  does  not  meet  the  case.  True, 
there  is  little  hope  for  them.  They  may  prop- 
erly be  called  the  doomed  and  despairing 
class.  Yet  we  can  not  rid  ourselves  of  them 
by  so  simple  a  classification  and  so  final  a 
treatment.  The  cobra  crawling  among  your 
children  is  not  neglected  till  age  or  his  own 
venom  removes  him.  A  mad  dog  loose  in 
the  street  is  not  passed  with  the  consoling 
remark  that  he  is  past  cure,  and  soon  will 
exhaust  himself.  These  figures  are  not  over- 
statements. Hardly  a  week  passes  without 
some  horror  that  would  shock  an  inexperi- 
enced community.  This  week  will  hardly 
pass  without  the  cry  of  murder  on  the  startled 
air.  Who  will  the  victim  be?  We  are  in  this 
vast  accumulation  of  human  wreckage. 
Ought  we  not  to  save  some  of  it?  Are 
we  saving  it?  Are  we  reducing  its  awful 
bulk? 

There  are  many  people  in  our  cities — in 
our  city — whose  greatest  comforts  are  found 
in  prisons.  Some  of  them  would  gladly  give 
honest  work  if  they  knew  how  to  find  it,  and 
how  to  do  it.  It  seems  too  bad  that  a  high 
Christian  civilization  can  not  treat  honest  in- 
dustry as  well  as  it  treats  thievery  and  prosti- 
tution.    It  is  one  shame  of  heathenism  that  it 

55 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

treats  dogs  with  cruel  neglect.  It  is  the 
shame  of  Christendom  that  we  treat  men  with 
cruel  neglect.  Booth  says  a  horse  has  food 
and  shelter,  and  a  chance  to  earn  both.  Yet 
there  are  many  people  in  every  great  city  who 
would  be  happy  to  have  the  same  blessings. 
These  doomed  classes  must  come  into  our  cal- 
culations, and  we  can  not  save  these  cities  till 
we  can  reach  them. 

It  is  in  this  city  problem  that  I  see  the 
large  place  for  the  activities  of  this  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  The  cities  give 
me  faith  in  the  continued  existence  of  this  as- 
sociation. The  great  reformatory  and  saving 
work  in  the  cities  is  to  be  done  by  the 
churches.  They  must  take  the  children  of 
Christian  homes  and  keep  them  in  the  way. 
They  must  capture  the  unsaved  families  that 
can  be  found  by  hunting.  The  Churches 
make  up  the  great  army  with  the  heavy  artil- 
lery and  constant  supplies.  But  there  is  a  host 
of  young  men  who  live  on  too  narrow  a  mar- 
gin of  resources,  and  too  narrow  a  margin  of 
morals,  to  be  followed  by  the  army.  They 
must  have  work  and  society  before  they  can 
digest  the  simplest  sermon.  They  must  re- 
ceive their  theology  of  a  brotherly  hand  be- 
fore they  can  receive  the  theology  of  the  pul- 

56 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

pits.     This  work  can  be  well  done  by  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Single  churches  are  not  strong  enough  to 
grapple  with  this  work.  They  are  doing  a 
vastly  more  important  work  than  curing 
drunkards  and  outcasts.  They  are  keeping 
the  substantial  part  of  the  community  from 
becoming  such.  They  are  the  great  physi- 
cians who  keep  men  from  rheumatism  and 
fever  and  diphtheria,  by  keeping  them  warm 
and  dry,  housed  and  clothed,  keeping  them 
out  of  infected  malarious  air.  The  Churches 
send  out  the  men  and  the  supplies  for  the  ad- 
vancing work.  They  are  doing  the  greatest 
work  in  the  world. 

The  Lamb's  Bride. 

The  Church  is  the  Lamb's  Bride.  Some 
people  think  she  is  not  of  much  dignity  of 
character.  They  seem  to  think  they  can  do 
just  as  well  without  her.  Some  people  think 
they  can  insult  her  and  treat  her  as  if  she  were 
a  common  street  woman.  They  can  not  thus 
treat  her  without  perilous  sin.  She  is  the 
Lamb's  Bride.  He  cherishes  her  above  every- 
thing else.  He  is  proud  of  her.  He  will  do 
everything  for  her.  You  remember  how  you 
felt  toward  your  bride.     You  looked  at  her 

57 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

with  joyous,  loving  eyes.  You  were  glad  of 
opportunities  to  show  your  love.  She  seemed 
so  brave,  so  heroic,  to  you.  She  had  given 
herself  to  you — had  left  home,  parents,  com- 
panions, all,  for  you.  She  committed  all  her 
future  to  your  keeping.  She  dropped  her 
own  name  and  took  yours.  She  weighed  the 
world  against  you  and  found  it  as  nothing, 
and  took  you  and  your  destiny.  How  proud 
you  were  of  her!  Woe  betide  the  man  that 
would  harm  her!  She  was  your  bride.  The 
Church  is  the  Lamb's  Bride.  The  great  place 
and  the  great  work  in  the  world  are  hers. 
While  God  is  God,  and  truth  is  truth,  the 
Church  will  be  like  the  apple  of  the  eye  to 
God. 

Let  no  man  imagine  that  any  mere  organi- 
zation, mere  society,  mere  association,  created 
by  mere  human  power,  and  fashioned  by  mere 
human  skill,  with  no  sacraments,  no  divine 
ordinances,  no  divine  authority,  can  come  in 
and  usurp  the  place  of  the  Church.  But  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  can  do 
some  very  important  work  in  the  saving  of  the 
cities.  It  can  go  out  as  a  picket  line  and  de- 
velop the  position  and  strength  of  the  enemy. 
It  can  scour  the  woods  and  bring  in  the  gueril- 
las.    It  can   reach   the  unhomed  multitudes 

58 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

who  need  help  and  sympathy  and  direction. 
It  is  a  picket  line,  a  skirmish  line.  It  is  not 
intended  for  more.  In  one  of  the  consider- 
able battles  of  the  war,  one  of  the  regiments 
from  Vermont  was  sent  forward  as  a  line  of 
skirmishers.  They  picked  their  way  through 
a  piece  of  woods  and  encountered  the  enemy. 
They  closed  with  him.  With  shouts  and  cat- 
calls and  all  manner  of  hooting,  they  drove 
the  enemy  from  his  works  and  finished  the 
work  of  the  day.  The  general  in  command 
praised  their  courage,  but  reprimanded  their 
disobedience  of  orders.  There  may  be  in- 
stances in  which  this  association  may  overleap 
its  character  as  a  picket  line,  and  think  that 
it  is  an  army,  and  do  the  work  of  an  army. 
But  in  every  such  case  they  show  their  cour- 
age at  the  expense  of  their  obedience.  This 
is  the  picket  line,  and  behind  it  are  the  solid 
squares  of  the  Church  of  the  Living  God,  dis- 
ciplined in  the  victories  of  eighteen  centuries. 
This  picket  line  may  sometimes  be  driven  in, 
but  it  can  never  be  driven  from  the  field. 

While  cities  continue  to  attract  and  con- 
sume the  best  products  of  the  country,  from 
beeves  to  men,  while  these  centers  of  power, 
like  an  engulfing  maelstrom,  carry  down  men 
and  women  by  the   thousand,  so  long  there 

59 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

will  be  large  room  for  this  society,  and  so  long 
as  it  does  a  genuine  work,  so  long  God  will 
raise  it  up  friends  to  help  it  to  success. 

Divine  Authority. 

As  we  stand  here  girding  ourselves  for  the 
work  of  the  twentieth  century,  we  can  not 
overlook  the  Problems  of  Authority  in  Re- 
ligion, Schools,  and  colleges,  and  libraries, 
and  newspapers,  and  periodicals,  and  lecture 
platforms,  and  political  constitutions,  and  ab- 
solute liberty,  have  thrust  the  world  forward 
into  the  fiercest  and  freest  conflict  of  ideas 
and  opinions  that  has  ever  marked  any  age. 
The  last  great  battle  seems  already  ordered. 
Armageddon  is  located.  It  is  in  the  Ameri- 
can skull.  Helmets,  venerable  by  antiquity, 
are  cleft  like  paper  caps.  Time  now  sanctifies 
no  wrongs.  Both  parties  have  thrown  away 
their  scabbards,  and  are  set  for  strife  to  the 
finish.  Relics,  charms,  pretended  miracles  of 
saints,  utterances  of  councils,  the  authority  of 
organizations,  are  all  useless  in  the  field  of 
evidence.  If  they  ever  seemed  to  have  any 
evidential  value,  that  time  is  past.  This 
thoughtful  and  practical  age  demands  evi- 
dence suited  to  its  habit. 

60 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

This  age  is  either  practical  in  business  or 
expert  in  science.  The  first  class,  the  great 
class,  the  steady  common-sense  class,  making 
up  the  overwhelming  majority  of  our  times, 
demands  practical  proofs  of  the  claims  of 
Christianity.  They  demand  the  fruit.  Does 
it  do  what  it  promises?  Christ  is  set  forward 
as  the  Great  Physician.  Where  are  the  vic- 
tims of  sin  Christ  has  cured?  These  business 
men  know  that  Christianity  is  not  a  theorem 
to  be  demonstrated,  but  a  fact  to  rest  on  testi- 
mony. Jesus  is  a  fact,  if  He  is  anything. 
Pardon  is  a  fact.  Salvation  is  a  fact.  What 
is  the  proof?  Where  are  the  witnesses?  The 
world  has  a  right  to  ask  these  questions.  We 
have  a  right  to  answer. 

Welcome  the  Strife. 

For  one,  we  welcome  the  inquiry.  If  we 
can  not  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  within  us, 
we  must  give  up  this  hope.  Christianity  is 
not  a  cunningly  devised  fable  to  be  thrust 
upon  us  by  authority.  If  it  will  not  stand 
investigation,  let  it  go  to  the  wall.  If  you 
have  any  dynamite  that  can  shatter  the  Rock 
of  Ages,  I  beseech  you  strike  it  off.  If  you 
have  any  telescope  that  can  dissolve  the  Star 
of  Bethlehem,  we  pray  you  bring  it  forward. 

61 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

We  are  in  for  the  future.  We  can  not  let  go. 
We  must  go  to  sea  for  eternity.  If  Chris- 
tianity is  only  an  old  raft  invented  by  priests 
as  a  ferry  that  simply  collects  toll  and  takes 
us  nowhere,  then  I  want  it  torn  to  pieces.  You 
can  do  nothing  against  the  truth.  All  I  want 
is  truth. 

Witnesses. 

The  world  has  a  right  to  ask  for  the  wit- 
nesses. The  gospel  means  good  news.  We 
are  to  tell  it.  ^'This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and 
woi*thy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  Now, 
this  is  such  a  statement  that,  if  it  be  true,  it 
does  not  matter  whatever  else  is  false,  and  if 
it  be  false  it  does  not  matter  whatever  else  is 
true.  The  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth 
to  forgive  sin.  Where  are  the  witnesses? 
This  rests  on  testimony.  Every  Christian  be- 
comes a  witness,  and  the  accumulated  evi- 
dence from  the  warm  hearts  of  saved  men 
will  melt  its  way  into  all  hearts. 

Lectureship  on  Evidences. 

There  is  another  class  of  opponents  hang- 
ing about  our  schools  devoted  to  science,  and 
they  want  other  evidence  because  they  do  not 

62 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

hear  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses.  For  these 
we  need  to  go  into  the  field  with  additional 
forces.  There  should  be  established  in  every 
city  a  lectureship  on  Christian  evidences.  We 
need  some  great  guns  to  defend  our  Golden 
Gate,  but  not  many.  A  few  will  keep  off  the 
pirates.  So  one  lectureship  in  a  city  is  enough 
for  this  department  of  Christian  work.  The 
pulpits  can  not  do  this  to  profit.  Their  hear- 
ers believe.  It  seems  to  them  useless  to  keep 
the  Savior  and  apostles  forever  on  trial  for 
perjury.  It  seems  better  to  send  them  about 
doing  good.  But  in  a  city  there  could  be 
found  enough  interested  in  this  vital  question 
to  justify  one  series  a  year,  at  some  central 
hall.  These  could  stay  up  the  hands  of  the 
discouraged  and  keep  many  of  the  young 
from  being  carried  away  into  doubt  and  skep- 
ticism. This  course  of  lectures  could  be  set 
forth  by  this  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. With  this  sling  Goliath  could  be  felled 
to  the  earth.  Then,  with  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  word  of  testimony  his  head 
can  be  removed,  and  Israel  can  go  forth  re- 
joicing, fair  as  the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners. 


63 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Individualism. 

We  are  in  a  time  of  individualism.  Na- 
tions are  no  longer  baptized  in  their  kings. 
The  old  centuries  recognized  no  one  but  the 
Monarch  in  the  Empire,  and  the  General  in 
the  Army.  There  was  no  one  else  in  the 
world.  Great  nobles  went  regularly  to  see 
Louis  XIV  dress  and  undress.  It  was  the 
only  thing  worth  seeing  in  France.  The  ease 
and  comfort  and  wishes  of  the  nobles  were  the 
supreme  law  in  the  country.  Orders  were  is- 
sued forbidding  the  hoeing  and  weeding  of 
crops  lest  the  young  partridges  should  be 
frightened.  Fertilizers  were  modified  by  law 
so  as  not  to  flavor  the  game.  If  my  lady  were 
sick,  peasants  were  made  to  beat  the  swamp 
all  night  to  prevent  the  frogs  from  croaking. 
All  this  is  gone.  Now  we  read  histories  of 
the  people.  The  individual  has  come  to  the 
front.  We  live  in  a  manhood  age.  Who  can 
measure  the  responsibilities  of  such  opportu- 
nities as  come  to  individuals  in  these  times? 
Who  can  measure  what  one  man  can  do?  In 
1806  a  Prussian  boy,  Johann  Nikolaus  von 
Dreyse,  nineteen  years  old,  bred  a  blacksmith, 
wandered  over  the  field  of  Jena,  just  after  the 
battle.     He  frequently  examined  the  locks  of 

64 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

the  dead  soldiers'  guns,  and  finally  said:  ''My 
countrymen  have  been  slaughtered  by  Napo- 
leon because  they  had  inferior  guns.  I  will 
remedy  this  evil."  He  went  to  Paris,  hired 
to  a  Swiss  gun-maker,  Pauli,  in  Napoleon's 
employ.  One  day  Napoleon  came  to  the 
shop,  and  said  to  Pauli:  "Make  for  yourself 
a  great  fortune,  and  make  for  me  a  gun  that 
will  load  at  the  breach.  With  such  a  weapon 
I  can  conquer  the  world."  They  went  at  the 
task.  Pauli  produced  a  breach-loader,  but  it 
was  too  complicated.  Dreyse  continued  his 
search  for  the  weapon.  By  and  by,  years  after 
the  Emperor  slept  under  the  willows  at  St. 
Helena,  he  found  his  secret  and  carried  it  to 
Prussia.  Soon  the  Prussian  army  was  armed 
with  it,  and  at  Sadowa  the  needle-gun  made 
Prussia  master  of  Austria,  prepared  the  con- 
solidated German  Empire,  gave  Venetia  to 
Sardinia,  and  secured  the  Unity  of  Italy,  and 
avenged  the  slaughter  at  Jena.  There  may 
be  some  lad  wandering  through  the  streets 
of  this  city  whom  this  society  may  anchor  in 
an  industrious  life,  whose  fortune  of  genius 
shall  turn  the  tide  of  battle  for  righteousness 
in  the  hotly  contested  days  of  the  twentieth 
century. 


65 


addresses  on  notable  occasions 

Use  and  Need  of  Money. 

The  question  of  saving  these  cities  is  re- 
duced to  one  of  dollars  and  cents.  Give  me 
the  great  fortunes  to  use  and  I  w^ill  take  the 
contract  to  make  this  a  Christian  city  in 
twenty  years.  I  will  make  the  world  a  Chris- 
tian world  before  the  death  of  some  children 
now  born.  We  have  the  light,  we  have  the 
Bible,  we  have  the  presses,  we  have  the  the- 
ology, we  have  the  experience,  we  have  the 
men  and  women.  All  we  lack  is  the  money. 
That  is  coming.  I  begin  to  think  God  is  get- 
ting us  ready  for  some  great  movement  in  this 
land,  and  in  all  the  earth.  He  seems  to  make 
elaborate  and  far-reaching  preparations  for 
great  forward  movements.  He  wanted  a  new 
Church  in  the  sixteenth  century.  He  could 
not  endure  the  desolation  and  corruption  of 
the  old  Scarlet  Church.  So  He  made  ready 
for  a  new  life.  He  whispers  to  a  boy  in 
Metz,  playing  with  his  blocks,  and  he  catches 
an  idea;  he  sees  movable  types,  and  we  have 
this  thing  which  we  call  the  press,  this  demi- 
god above  all  governments,  above  all  armies, 
above  all  kings;  Public  Opinion.  Yonder  He 
whispers  to  another  man,  and  he  catches  the 
inner  soul  of  the  magnetic  needle.     It  was 

66 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

not  much  to  see  that  bit  of  steel  point  to  the 
North  Pole,  but  it  opened  the  bosom  of  all 
the  oceans.  All  ships  left  the  shore  and  struck 
boldly  across  the  ocean.  He  sent  His  Spirit 
to  Columbus,  wandering  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  he  dreamed — and  laid 
down  in  the  lap  of  Europe  a  new  world. 
Why  all  this?  I  will  tell  you.  God  was 
making  ready  for  the  great  German  Monk, 
with  his  new  Evangel,  that  His  idea  might  be 
received  by  a  new  race  of  Bible  readers,  and 
in  a  new  world  in  which  they  might  read  and 
be  free. 

In  this  nineteenth  century  we  have  had  the 
outcome  of  another  of  God's  plans.  He 
awakened  the  idea  of  freedom  in  the  mind  of 
an  orthodox  preacher  and  scholar  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  combined  it  with  the  speculative 
gifts  of  Massachusetts  capitalists  and  with  the 
financial  stress  of  the  Federal  Treasury  in  Jef- 
ferson's care,  and  with  the  spirit  of  the  South, 
which  wanted  to  sell  the  territory  belonging 
to  Virginia,  rather  than  the  territory  of 
Maine,  belonging  to  Massachusetts.  Out  of 
this  combination  and  the  stubborn  purpose  of 
the  Massachusetts  parson  to  have  free  soil  or 
none,  came  the  ordinance  of  1787,  which  con- 
secrated the  great  Northwest  to  Freedom,  and 

67 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

pushed  the  line  of  the  free  States  down  to  the 
border  of  the  tobacco  and  cotton  States,  by  a 
compact  older  than  the  Constitution,  and  so, 
irrevocable. 

The  same  great  plan  worked  over  all 
Northern  Europe  till  those  hardy  sons  of 
Protestant  and  heroic  sires  filled  those  regions 
with  unorganized  forces  that  only  awaited  the 
first  tap  of  the  war-drum.  But  this  was  not 
all.  In  yonder  Southland  there  was  a  great 
black  force  of  toil  and  economy  that  had  sup- 
ported the  real  South  in  the  luxuries  of  home 
for  two  centuries,  and  could  easily  support  the 
dominant  race  in  the  frugalities  of  camp-life 
for  two  centuries  more.  This  must  be 
matched.  So,  wonderfully,  one  man  came 
forward  with  a  sewing  machine,  by  which  a 
girl  could  clothe  a  regiment;  another  man 
with  a  reaper  and  farm  utensils,  by  which  the 
girls  in  the  country  could  feed  themselves  and 
their  aged  parents,  and  their  brothers  and 
lovers  at  the  front.  Thus  God  made  ready  all 
the  necessary  agencies  for  the  great  uplift  of 
Freedom  in  our  lifetime.  So  it  seems  to  me 
that  we  are  in  a  wonderful  time;  that  God  is 
making  ready  for  magnificent  achievements. 
When  I  look  down  the  century  now  tarrying 
for  a  decade,  and  see  what  has  come  to  us — 

68 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

free  constitutions  to  all  Europe;  swift  and  se- 
cure passage  of  all  seas;  flight  over  all  conti- 
nents; talking  round  all  the  world;  general 
diffusion  of  knowledge  among  the  people; 
steam  presses  that  throw  off  printed  pages  at 
the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour;  Scripture  re- 
duced to  the  wage-earning  value  of  ten  min- 
utes of  the  mechanic's  time;  the  multiplica- 
tion of  the  tireless  and  faithful  servants  of 
steel  and  steam,  so  that,  as  in  Massachusetts, 
each  man,  woman,  and  child  has  the  service 
of  more  than  fifty  men ;  the  miraculous  ability 
by  machinery  to  multiply  the  loaves  and  fishes 
till  one-tenth  of  the  population  can  feed  and 
clothe  the  other  nine-tenths;  thus  making  it 
possible  to  relieve  them  for  purposes  of  war 
as  in  the  past,  or  for  the  high  purposes  of  God 
— when  I  see  the  millions  of  members  of  all 
Churches  instructed  in  righteousness,  and 
able  to  tell  the  Good  News,  and  that  all  the 
doors  of  the  world  are  open;  when  I  see  that 
we  have  turned  out  by  our  school  system  mil- 
lions of  scholars  better  trained  than  the  sages 
of  former  generations,  tempered  in  our  Sun- 
day-schools and  inspired  in  our  Churches; 
and  see  the  millions  of  heroic  Christian 
women  coming  forward  as  did  the  Carthagin- 
ian women  in  the  time  of  Hannibal,  saying, 

69 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

"Count  on  us  for  any  service  in  any  field,"  and 
then  see  that  by  some  chance  wealth  is  multi- 
plying as  never  before;  that  it  is  a  poor  town 
that  has  not  men  of  fortune,  a  poor  city  that 
has  no  scores  of  millionaires;  that  single  men 
in  this  free  land  have  made  in  a  decade  or  a 
generation  fortunes  larger  than  the  Roman 
emperors  ever  commanded;  —  when  I  look 
over  these  marvelous  signs,  I  can  not  free 
myself  from  the  conviction  that  God  is  mak- 
ing ready  for  some  vast  forward  movement 
in  His  moral  empire  among  men. 

Already  I  catch  glimpses  of  the  banners 
of  the  coming  hosts.  Great  institutions  are 
being  founded  and  great  enterprises  are  being 
put  forward.  They  rise  round  us  on  every 
side.  There  rises  a  home  for  the  aged;  yon- 
der another.  Yonder  are  the  homes  for  home- 
less children;  and  not  far  away  rises  that  great 
university  that  shall  carry  the  name  of  its 
author  for  twenty  centuries,  and  make  the 
soil  of  California  as  classical  as  that  of 
Greece.  Godly  women  of  wealth  in  some  of 
our  cities  are  taking  charge  of  a  number  of 
blocks  in  destitute  or  crowded  sections,  and 
seeing  that  the  gospel  has  a  chance.  Churches 
and  every  sort  of  school  to  meet  the  needs  of 
the  section  are  provided;  scores  of  workers 

70 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

are  employed,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  bring 
the  light  into  these  dark  places,  and  great  con- 
gregations are  now  worshiping  where,  a  lit- 
tle while  ago,  sin  had  open  dominion.  It 
must  be,  it  seems  to  me,  that  this  spirit  will  be 
kindled  in  other  bosoms.  It  may  become  con- 
tagious, till  great  buildings  for  the  use  of  such 
societies  will  be  multiplied,  till  all  can  have 
an  open  chance  for  heaven. 

All  this  seems  great  to  me,  but  my  faith 
stretches  a  little  farther.  I  see  a  few  great 
nations  and  new  civilizations  rising  on  the 
bosom  of  the  twentieth  century.  There  is 
great,  stern  Russia,  looking  into  Europe 
through  St.  Petersburg,  the  window  created 
by  Peter  the  Great.  Just  behind  her  is  the 
vast  empire  of  China,  asking  for  the  gospel; 
and  back  of  her,  cowering  in  the  darkness,  is 
the  Dark  Continent.  While  I  look  the  ages 
roll  together  at  my  feet,  and  I  see  the  great 
plan  unfold  before  me.  There  are  men  of 
fortune  who  shall  seize  upon  these  cities  and 
give  them  to  the  Son  of  God.  There  are  boys 
in  America  to-day,  some  of  whom  this  associ- 
ation will  yet  rescue,  whose  fortunes  will 
spread  the  agencies  of  the  Church  and  the 
light  of  the  gospel  over  these  great  empires. 

And  I  utter  the  conviction  of  my  soul, — 
71 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

before  the  end  of  the  twentieth  century  all 
the  cities  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world 
will  be  given  to  our  God  and  His  Christ. 
For  our  God  is  marching  on! 


72 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE   PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 


Delivered  in  the  Wabash  Avenue  M.  E.  Church,  Chicago, 
January  30,  1870,  and  by  special  request  re- 
delivered in  Farwell  Hall,  Sabbath 
afternoon,  February  6th. 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE   PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

Therefore  shall  ye  lay  up  these  my  words  in  your 
heart  and  in  your  soul,  and  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon 
your  hand,  that  they  may  be  as  frontlets  between  your  eyes. 

And  ye  shall  teach  them  your  children,  speaking  of 
them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou 
walkest  by  the  way,  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when 
thou  risest  up„ 

That  your  days  may  be  multiplied,  and  the  days  of 
your  children,  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  sware  unto 
your  fathers  to  give  them,  as  the  days  of  heaven  upon 
the  earth. — Deut.  xi,  1 8-2 1. 

I  AM  here  to-day  to  plead  for  the  poor 
man's  child.  I  well  remember  how,  in  the 
winters  of  my  childhood,  my  father,  because 
he  was  too  poor  to  buy  shoes  for  me,  used  to 
take  me  up  in  his  arms  and  carry  me  to  the 
district  school,  where,  warming  and  studying 
by  the  fire  the  district  furnished,  I  received 
a  start  toward  manhood. 

That  athlete  in  the  Greek  games  yonder, 
goes  forth  to  meet  his  antagonist  on  the  pub- 
lic arena  with  every  sign  of  caution  and  care. 
Hope  has  stimulated  his  patient  preparation. 

75 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Honorable  zeal  for  the  repute  of  his  native 
village  has  crowded  him  into  the  lists  as  a 
competitor.  Now,  in  the  presence  of  his  foe, 
in  the  very  hour  of  destiny,  his  confidence  is 
concealed  and  he  walked  forth  anxious  for  the 
issue.  Every  muscle  is  hardened,  every  joint 
is  set,  every  fiber  of  his  being  is  summoned 
into  service.  His  eye  glistens,  his  nostrils  di- 
late, his  lips  close  down,  and  his  will  is  keyed 
to  its  highest  purpose.  He  is  the  picture  of 
resolution  in  extremity.  If  I  could  show  you 
my  thought,  you  would  see  that  I  am  that 
athlete.  He  is  but  a  shadow  of  the  anxiety  I 
feel  as  I  enter  into  this  conflict.  The  struggle 
for  the  life  of  our  public  schools  is  the  con- 
flict of  all  the  ages.  We  are  in  the  forefront 
of  the  field.  Every  movement  in  this  cam- 
paign concerns  mankind,  and  shall  thrill  with 
the  intensity  of  its  interests  the  remotest  island 
and  the  last  man.  As  a  people,  we  are  at 
headquarters.  Nothing  transpires  in  the 
world  to  which  we  are  indifferent.  The  elec- 
tion of  some  interior  borough  in  England 
transpires  to-day.  We  count  the  votes  in  our 
evening  papers,  and  light  our  bonfires  in  a 
thousand  cities.  A  patriot  in  the  Corps  Le- 
gislatif  defies  the  National  Guard,  and  de- 
nounces  the   reticent  emperor,   and   the   tri- 

76 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

color  of  France  is  u*\furled  and  carried  at  the 
head  of  processions  through  our  commercial 
cities.  Bismarck  goes  over  to  the  people's 
party,  and  secures  the  unity  of  Germany;  and 
all  our  hills  and  valleys  echo  the  songs  of  the 
Fatherland.  A  bountiful  harvest  finds  its 
way  to  the  seaboard  of  China,  and  this  conti- 
nent feels  the  joyous  thrill.  We  are  related 
by  blood  and  marriage  to  all  mankind,  and 
nothing  is  beyond  our  sympathies  or  our  in- 
terest; and  nothing  transpires  here  that  does 
not  tell  upon  all  peoples.  The  struggles  of 
this  Republic  are  the  struggles  of  the  race, 
and  any  question  involving  our  liberties  af- 
fects the  world.  Now,  bring  upon  this  stage, 
to  which  all  eyes  are  turned,  an  enemy  of  vast 
proportions,  deep  as  the  sea,  subtle  as  sin,  un- 
scrupulous as  the  arch-fiend,  malignant, 
bloody  and  blood-thirsty,  sleepless  as  a  spirit 
and  persistent  as  death,  and  let  him  swear 
eternal  enmity  to  all  our  institutions,  our  pop- 
ular education,  our  Holy  Bible,  our  free  press, 
our  free  speech,  our  free  thought,  our  free  con- 
science, our  sciences,  our  gospel — in  short,  all 
that  distinguishes  us  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth;  put  us  down  before  such  a  foe,  in 
the  very  act  of  blasting  America  with  the 
blight  and  mildew  of  Italy,  of  blotting  from 

77 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

our  heavens  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  of 
smotherins  in  our  bosoms  the  faith  that  works 
by  love,  purifying  the  heart,  of  eclipsing  in 
our  brain  the  light  of  activity;  compel  us  to 
contend  for  our  faith,  for  our  intelligence,  for 
our  liberties,  for  our  country,  for  our  lives; 
in  short,  for  absolutely  everything  a  freeman 
prizes,  even  including  his  honor,  and  you 
have  this  question  as  it  presses  upon  my 
thought  to-day.  Many  of  you  do  not  see  it 
as  thus  comprehensive;  some  of  you  regard  it 
simply  as  a  trifling  question,  concerning  an 
indiflferent  matter.  But  I  ask  you  to  listen 
patiently  to  me.  It  may  grow  on  your 
thought  till  you  realize  that  the  battle  is  ac- 
tually commenced,  for  the  forces  are  mar- 
shaled; the  vast  legions  are  in  motion;  the 
hour  is  come;  the  one  war  of  all  time  is  in 
progress,  and  the  common  school  is  the  point 
of  attack.  Here  we  must  take  our  final  stand. 
Here  we  must  be  crowned  or  martyred.  If 
we  can  not  hold  this  fortress,  we  can  not  hold 
the  open  country  back  of  it  without  this  fort- 
ress. If  we  surrender  this,  we  make  our  final 
subjugation  and  extirpation  only  a  question  of 
time.  In  these  w^ords  I  have  not  overstated 
by  the  smallest  syllable  my  solemn  convic- 
tions.   Let  us  advance  to  the  consideration  of 

78 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

the  facts  in  the  case  upon  which  this  convic- 
tion rests,  praying  always  that  He  whose  wis- 
dom is  incapable  of  mistake  or  surprise  may 
guide  us  into  all  truth. 

I  need  not  argue  the  importance  of  the 
common  school.  It  would  be  almost  an  insult 
upon  your  intelligence.  You  understand  that 
popular  government  is  not  possible  save  in 
the  embrace  of  general  intelligence.  You 
may  mass  a  tribe  under  a  chief,  and  drive 
them  along  the  warpath  to  vengeance,  with- 
out their  being  intelligent.  You  may  found 
a  despotism  upon  the  muscle  of  a  nation, 
while  its  brain  sleeps.  You  may  marshal  an 
army  that  shall  stand,  a  living  wall  of  flesh, 
without  a  letter  of  the  alphabet  outside  of  the 
commander's  skull.  But  you  can  not  main- 
tain a  free  government  without  the  general 
diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the  spread  of  in- 
telligence. It  is  a  question  susceptible  of 
simple  demonstration.  A  man,  to  govern 
himself,  must  understand  his  needs  and  possi- 
bilities. To  see  he  must  have  eyes.  In  our 
own  land  it  was  the  fruitful  source  of  our 
Civil  War,  and  is  now  the  palliation  demand- 
ing charity  that,  under  the  shadow  of  the  do- 
mestic institution,  a  large  per  cent  of  the  peo- 
ple were  unable  to  read.     They  were  thus  in 

79 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  hands  of  their  ambitious  leaders  the  ready 
tools  of  despotism.  It  is  so  everywhere.  Just 
in  proportion  as  a  people  comes  up  in  intelli- 
gence, it  comes  up  in  power.  The  actual 
power  is  with  the  people,  and  when  they 
think  despotisms  disappear  and  constitutions 
come  forward.  The  activity  of  the  New  Eng- 
land brain,  the  migrating,  ubiquitous  Yankee 
schoolmarm,  coupled  with  her  moral  and  re- 
ligious strength,  made  freedom  a  necessity. 
It  is  a  simple  fact  of  history,  that  in  the  war 
for  national  independence  Massachusetts  fur- 
nished more  men  than  all  the  Southern  States 
combined,  and  it  required  the  presence  of 
New  England  soldiers  to  keep  down  the  tory- 
ism  of  the  South.  Two  elements  in  society 
composed  this  state  of  things,  the  religious 
thought  of  the  Pilgrims,  making  their  re- 
ligion and  themselves  a  protest  against  des- 
potism; and  then  their  intelligence,  making 
liberty  the  only  state  of  repose.  England  is 
another  illustration  of  this  principle.  The 
queen  is  a  figure-head.  The  people  are  the 
power.  Year  by  year,  as  their  intelligence 
widens  and  deepens,  the  old  limitations  and 
fetters  give  way.  So  that  now  England  may 
almost  be  called  a  republic  with  a  permanent 
senate  and  an  hereditary  president     France 

80 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

is  no  exception.  Spread  Paris  over  the  em- 
pire, and  even  the  priesthood  could  not  hold 
the  throne  together  a  single  day.  But  I  need 
not  argue  this  point.  We  all  do  understand 
that  intelligence  is  a  necessity  to  a  free  gov- 
ernment. Other  things  may  also  be  needed, 
but  this  is  a  prime  necessity. 

The  next  question  that  arises  is,  Hoiv  can 
this  intelligence  be  secured?  History  an- 
swers, By  the  common  school.  The  school  re- 
ports of  the  State  of  New  York  show  that  for 
every  child  instructed  in  seminaries,  acade- 
mies and  colleges,  more  than  fifty  are  trained 
in  the  common  school.  The  great  mass  of  the 
people  are  unable  to  reach  any  other  school. 
Close  the  door  of  the  common  school,  and 
you  doom  our  people  to  inevitable  ignorance. 
Only  a  small  per  cent  of  the  people  are 
wealthy.  The  millions  live  from  hand  to 
mouth.  They  depend  upon  their  industry  for 
their  bread.  The  day  laborer,  the  mechanic, 
the  great  body  of  the  nation,  where  the  power 
actually  slumbers,  could  not  educate  his  chil- 
dren but  for  the  public  school.  These  are  our 
hopes  for  general  intelligence,  and  this  is  a 
prerequisite  to  our  freedom.  Therefore  our 
common  school  must  be  defended  at  all  haz- 
ards. Let  come  what  will,  every  lover  of 
6  81 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTAHLE   OCCASIONS 

liberty  and  friend  of  freedom  must  guard 
with  the  sleepless  eye  of  eternal  vigilance  this 
palladium  of  our  power,  and  strike,  if  need 
be,  with  sword  and  fagot  for  its  defense. 

I  wish  now  to  consider  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Bible  from  our  Public  Schools.  As  we 
shall  see,  this  means  the  destruction  of  the 
whole  public  school  system.  Let  me  say  here 
that  I  make  no  reference  to  the  President  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  who  puts  in  his  re- 
port a  recommendation  for  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Bible  from  the  schools  of  Chicago.  He 
is  nobody^  absolutely  nobody,  in  this  struggle. 
Indeed  no  man  is  to  be  counted.  The  great 
forces  that  come  to  the  deadly  embrace  in  this 
question  are  the  parties  with  whom  we  have 
to  do.  The  instruments,  the  tools,  the  cat's- 
paws,  are  only  the  accidents  of  the  hour,  and 
if  the  present  president  had  not  made  that 
suggestion,  somebody  else  would.  'Tt  must 
needs  be  that  offenses  come,  but  woe  unto 
him  by  whom  they  come."  The  issue  is  upon 
us.  This  problem  must  be  solved.  Let  us 
state  some  facts  that  indicate  this.  I  am  told 
by  a  sharp  politician  who  has  canvassed  the 
question  that  the  present  Board  of  Education 
are  equally  divided  on  this  subject,  ten  fa- 
voring the  change,  ten  preferring  the  present 

82 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

rule.  But  mark  you,  five  of  this  Board  ex- 
pire this  year.  Their  successors  are  to  be 
elected  by  the  Common  Council.  What  will 
that  Council  do?  Whom  will  they  elect? 
According  to  my  best  information  they  stand 
— nineteen  Roman  Catholics,  fourteen  Protes- 
tants, and  seven  infidels.  This  is  not  absolute, 
but  approximate.  Another  politician  states 
the  number  of  Romanists  at  fifteen.  The  dis- 
crepancy comes  from  the  fact  that  the  second 
man  counts  as  Romanists  only  those  who  are 
actual  members,  while  the  first  man  added 
those  who  associate  with  and  always  vote  for 
the  Romanists.  This  does  not  change  the  is- 
sue. We  ask,  then.  Can  there  be  any  doubt 
of  the  result?  If  there  is,  it  must  be  dissipated 
when  we  remember  that  some  mind  has  been 
at  work  preparing  this  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  not  by  accident  that  your 
attention  was  drawn  toward  a  side  issue  at 
the  last  election  and  you  were  unwittingly  led 
to  elect  several  Irish  Catholics  in  strong 
American  and  Protestant  wards,  where  you 
had  it  all  your  own  way  and  could  have 
elected  any  good  and  honest  men  you  might 
have  nominated.  Supplant  these  by  your  true 
representatives  on  this  question  and  your  ma- 
jority is  clear.     This  deep  and  far-reaching 

83 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

plan  has  not  been  matured  by  accident  nor  in 
vain.  It  has  not  been  brought  to  this  point 
to  be  abandoned  in  the  hour  of  triumph.  No, 
it  will  go  on,  in  my  judgment,  to  its  consum- 
mation unless  the  public  sentiment  shall  be  so 
aroused  as  to  make  it  too  dangerous  for  these 
public  officers  to  tamper  with  our  present  sys- 
tem. This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the 
question  of  throwing  the  Bible  out  of  our 
public  schools.  The  grounds  on  which  the 
act  is  defended  are  these: 

/.  That  the  State  lias  nothing  to  do  with 
religious  education,  2.  That  the  Bible  is  a 
sectarian  Book.  J.  That  reading  the  Bible 
in  our  public  schools  violates  the  rights  of 
conscience  which  are  secured  by  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  our  government,  univer- 
sal freedom. 

These  are  the  essential  points.  The  ob- 
jection of  the  inutility  of  the  exercise  is  not 
worth  mentioning.  To  put  the  whole  case, 
then,  in  its  strongest  possible  light,  let  us  turn 
it  about.  Let  these  aldermen  elect  their  own 
Board  of  Education.  Let  this  Board  appoint 
their  own  teachers,  make  their  own  regula- 
tions, as  in  San  Francisco,  where  no  book  can 
get  into  the  schools  without  the  consent  of 
the  Romish  Bishop.     Let  these  ordain  prayer 

84 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the  celebration  of 
mass  as  the  opening  exercises,  then  let  us  see 
how  we  would  like  that,  whether  we  would 
not  cry  against  it  as  an  outrage.  Of  course, 
we  would  cry  out  against  it.  But  this  putting 
is  fallacious.  If  the  Bible  was  as  sectarian 
as  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  Virgin  or  the 
Romish  mass,  the  case  would  be  even.  This  is 
the  core  of  the  fallacy,  the  assumption  that  the 
Bible  is  sectarian.  We  shall  come  to  this 
point  soon.  These  considerations  have  in- 
duced some  leading  Protestants  to  favor  the 
removal  of  the  Bible.  Chiefest  among  these 
are  Greeley  and  Beecher,  though  Greeley 
may  be  quoted  on  both  sides.  These  are 
strong  men.  But  we  have  known  them  too 
long  to  believe  that  they  are  infallible.  We 
recall  with  too  great  relief  the  advice  for 
compromise  and  the  blunders  concerning  re- 
construction to  accept  their  opinions  as  final. 
Let  us  rather  examine  the  question  for  our- 
selves and  expose  the  fallacies  in  the  argu- 
ment. The  first  statement  that  the  State  has 
nothing  to  do  with  religious  education  over- 
looks the  nature  of  education  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  State.  The  general  idea  of  edu- 
cation is,  ''to  lead  out"  the  powers.  It  comes 
from  a  Latin  word,  "educo,"  ''to  lead  out." 

85 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

That  is,  lead  out  a  man's  powers,  all  his 
powers.  Horace  Mann  gives  the  definition 
accepted  by  the  American  people.  He  says: 
"All  intelligent  thinkers  upon  the  subject  now 
utterly  discard  and  repudiate  the  idea  that 
reading  and  writing,  with  a  knowledge  of  ac- 
counts, constitute  education.  ...  Its  do- 
main extends  over  the  three-fold  nature  of 
man,  over  his  body,  .  .  .  over  his  intel- 
lect, .  .  .  and  over  his  moral  and  re- 
ligious susceptibilities."  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  education.  And  when  the  State  or- 
dains a  system  of  education,  it  is  to  see  that 
the  child  has  a  chance  for  this  symmetrical 
development.  Mark  you,  there  is  nothing 
like  a  union  of  Church  and  State  in  this.  The 
statement  that  the  State  has  nothing  to  do 
with  religious  education,  overlooks  the  true 
character  of  the  State.  For  religion  is  neces- 
sary to  good  government.  By  religion  is 
meant  "virtue,  as  founded  upon  reverence  of 
God,  and  expectations  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments,"  a  definition  in  which  Dr. 
Johnson  is  substantially  followed  by  many 
lexicographers.  This  proposition  concerning 
the  necessity  of  religion  is  so  patent  that  it  is 
aflirmed  by  nearly  all  our  State  constitutions, 
usually  in  these  words:  "Religion,  morality, 

86 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  a  good  gov- 
ernment and  the  happiness  of  mankind, 
schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  for- 
ever be  encouraged." 

The  statement  also  assumes  that  we  are 
an  infidel  nation.  On  no  other  theory  could 
it  be  true  that  the  State  has  nothing  to  do  with 
religious  education.  We  are  indeed  secured 
from  any  established  Church  by  the  highest 
authority  of  the  land.  No  power  can  compel 
our  attendance  upon  public  worship  or  our 
contribution  for  its  support.  Yet  we  are  not 
an  infidel  nation.  Mark  this,  the  recognition 
of  the  authority  of  religion  and  the  enthrone- 
ment of  a  sect  are  two  distinct  and  almost  an- 
tagonistic propositions.  In  the  very  article 
securing  our  freedom  of  conscience  one  is  ac- 
knowledged, the  other  is  condemned.  Look 
at  the  proof  that  we  are  a  Christian  nation. 

We  were  born  out  of  the  struggle  of  con- 
science, and  came  here  for  religious  liberty. 
The  Pilgrims  were  exiles  for  conscience. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  recog- 
nizes our  inalienable  rights  as  from  God. 

The  President  annually  proclaims  a  day 
of  thanksgiving  to  God. 

All  public  officers  take  a  solemn  oath  in 
the  name  of  God. 

87 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  convention  for  framing  the  first  con- 
stitution was  opened  with  prayer. 

Each  house  of  the  government  has  its 
chaplain. 

The  army  and  the  navy  are  supplied  with 
chaplains  as  regularly  commissioned  officers. 

Churches  and  property  used  exclusively 
for  religious  purposes  are  exempt  from  taxa- 
tion. 

The  old  preamble  to  our  State  constitu- 
tion, again  adopted  by  the  Constitutional 
Convention  now  in  session  in  Springfield,  ac- 
knowledges God  in  the  first  sentence:  ''We, 
the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  grateful  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  civil,  political,  and  re- 
ligious liberty  which  He  hath  so  long  per- 
mitted us  to  enjoy,  and  looking  to  Him  for  a 
blessing,"  etc.  So  much  does  the  State  ac- 
knowledge God  that  any  man  may  be  pun- 
ished for  profaning  the  name  of  God.  And 
the  courts  hold  profanity  as  useless  and  only 
hurtful. 

The  State  protects  the  sanctity  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  the  peace  of  public  worship. 

The  State  ordains  that  licensed  ministers 
of  the  gospel  shall  be  competent  to  celebrate 
the  marriage  ceremony. 

So  much  are  we  a  Christian  people,  that 
88 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

convicts  in  our  penitentiaries  and  youths  in 
our  reform  schools  have  chaplains  and  re- 
ligious instruction.  ''Must  our  children  be- 
come convicts  before  they  can  hear  the  Bi- 
ble?" More  than  this,  in  the  case  of  the  poor 
orphan  whom  infidelity  casts  to  the  jungle,  or 
exposes  on  the  barren  moor,  or  abandons  to 
the  slow  death  by  famine,  the  State  appoints 
a  home  and  requires  that  the  apprentice  or 
servant  be  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  the 
general  rules  of  arithmetic,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  such  term  of  service  the  "master  or 
mistress  shall  give  the  apprentice  or  servant 
a  new  Bible,  and  two  complete  suits  of  new 
wearing  apparel."  Is  this  the  action  of  an 
infidel  nation?  No.  The  State  can  not  exact 
penalties  for  the  violation  of  the  Golden  Rule^ 
but  it  does  act  like  a  Christian  State  and  ac- 
knowledges the  claims  of  religion. 

Blackstone  says  that  ''Christianity  is  a 
part  of  the  common  law  of  England."  Our 
State  law  enacts  the  common  law  of  England 
as  our  law,  so  that  Illinois  holds  Christianity 
to  be  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  State.  Daniel 
Webster,  in  his  argument  in  the  Girard  Will 
case,  said:  "Christianity  is  the  law  of  the 
land."  These  are  high  authorities;  surely  no 
more  proof  of  our  being  a  Christian  nation 

89 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

can  be  needed.  If  it  Is,  it  is  at  hand.  Judge 
Sharswood,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Bench  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  ablest  jur- 
ists of  this  age,  has  recently  decided  against 
the  validity  of  a  bequest  for  the  foundation 
of  an  "Infidel  Society."  The  supreme  tri- 
bunal will  not  allow  a  man  to  institute  a  per- 
petual attack  upon  Christianity.  He  says  of 
such  a  society:  "It  would  prove  a  nursery  of 
vice,  a  school  of  preparation  to  qualify  young 
men  for  the  gallows,  and  young  women  for 
the  brothel;  and  there  is  no  skeptic  of  decent 
manners  and  good  morals  who  would  not  con- 
sider such  a  debating  club  as  a  common 
nuisance  and  disgrace  to  the  city."  Does  that 
sound  as  if  we  were  an  infidel  nation  having 
nothing  to  do  with  religious  education?  The 
Girard  Will,  excluding  clergymen  from  the 
grounds  of  the  college,  was  allowed  to  stand 
by  the  court  because  it  did  not  prevent  re- 
ligious instruction  by  Christian  laymen  in  the 
college.  From  all  this  we  are  driven  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Constitution,  the  law,  and 
the  courts  teach  that  the  State  has  to  do  with 
religious  education.  It  does  not  establish  a 
sect  by  law,  but  it  relies  upon  the  great  truths 
of  religion.  It  does  not  seek  maintenance  of 
religion  as  an  end  of  government,  but  as  a 

90 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

means  to  another  end,  the  maintenance  of  lib- 
erty. The  fundamental  law  prevents  reli- 
gion from  leaning  on  the  State.  But  that  is 
not  this  case.  Here  the  State  leans  on  re- 
ligion. Mr.  Webster  said:  "A  Republican 
government  must  have  some  religion.  It 
must  use  religion  and  appeals  to  conscience 
and  future  retribution,  or  it  can  not  attain  its 
end  in  the  conservation  of  the  freedom  of  the 
people."  All  this  settles  the  question  con- 
cerning the  relations  of  the  State  to  religious 
education. 

The  next  affirmation  that  the  Bible  is  a 
sectarian  book  is  easily  disposed  of.  To 
w^hich  sects  does  it  belong?  What  are  its  dis- 
tinctive sectarian  features?  I  know  of  no 
Protestant  Bible.  King  James'  translation, 
the  English  Bible,  for  those  who  use  the  lan- 
guage, is  not  Protestant.  Dr.  Clark,  of  Al- 
bany, says:  ^'It  was  begun  by  Wickliffe  in  the 
Romish  Church.  It  was  reviewed  and  con- 
tinued by  Tyndale,  Coverdale,  and  other 
Romanists.  It  was  printed,  published,  and 
circulated  by  the  authority  of  a  Romish  king. 
It  is  not  a  Protestant,  but  an  English  Bible, 
pronounced  by  Dr.  Alexander  Geddes,  an  ec- 
clesiastic of  the  Romish  Church,  ^of  all  ver- 
sions the  most  excellent  for  accuracy,  fidelity, 

91 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  the  strictest  attention  to  the  letter  of  the 
text.' "  King,  of  Cincinnati,  asks,  "If  the 
Bible  is  sectarian,  to  which  of  the  sects  did 
Jesus  belong?"  I  like  Plymouth  Bartlett's 
putting  of  the  case  when  he  says:  "The  big- 
otry and  narrowness  are  with  those  who 
would  cast  the  Bible  out  of  the  public  schools 
for  liberality's  sake.  They  seem  to  think  that 
God  and  the  Bible  belong  to  their  sects  and 
must  be  condemned  as  sectarian."  (Not 
quoted  literally.)  No,  the  Bible  is  not  the 
property  of  any  sect.  It  belongs  to  mankind. 
Like  the  air  and  the  sunlight,  it  is  incapable 
of  being  monopolized;  and  will  sooner  or 
later  blast  and  desolate  any  sect  practicing  the 
crime.  The  charge  is  groundless.  The  State 
acknowledging  religion,  and  God  and  the  gos- 
pel, acknowledges  the  religion  of  the  Bible, 
the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  the  gospel  of  the 
Bible. 

The  third  affirmation,  that  reading  the 
Bible  in  our  public  schools  violates  the  rights 
of  conscience,  which  are  secured  by  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  land,  universal  free- 
dom, needs  careful  consideration.  In  the 
first  place,  a  law  may  not  be  so  interpreted  as 
to  make  it  fatal  to  the  State.  Self-preserva- 
tion is  the  highest  law.     Therefore,  individ- 

92 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

ual  conscience  must  give  way  to  this  law  of 
self-preservation.  Yesterday  thirteen  millions 
of  people  felt  bound  in  conscience  to  pray  for 
the  Confederacy.  But  the  government  said 
you  shall  not  do  it,  and  shut  up  their  churches 
and  their  mouths.  They  were  conscientiously 
bound  to  support  Davis;  but  the  government 
said:  "Stop  it!"  and  they  stopped  it.  This 
was  no  violation  of  the  principle  of  freedom 
of  conscience,  because  it  did  not  pursue  them 
for  their  conscience,  but  because  their  convic- 
tions contravened  the  good  and  peace  of  the 
Republic.  It  demonstrates  that  the  principle 
of  freedom  of  conscience  is  not  the  highest 
law  in  the  land.  That  is,  as  the  courts  have 
repeatedly  held:  "If  the  State,  in  exercising 
a  necessary  power  for  the  good  of  the  public, 
makes  a  requirement,  without  the  direct  effect 
of  persecuting,  punishing,  restraining,  or  hurt- 
ing any  one  for  his  religious  opinions,  though 
his  religious  belief  indirectly  is  the  occasion 
of  his  being  abridged  in  his  civil  rights  of  con- 
science, it  does  not  infringe  upon  his  rights  of 
conscience  as  they  are  recognized  in  our  Con- 
stitution." 

Chief  Justice  Shaw  holds  that  this  right 
of  conscience  is  not  an  absolute  but  a  com- 
mon right,  to  be  enjoyed  subject  to  restrictions 

93 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  conditions  made  for  the  good  of  all.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  Maine  says,  ^'that  the 
maxim,  Salus  populi  suprema  lex,  'the  safety 
of  the  people  is  the  supreme  law,'  is  a  maxim 
of  universal  application."  The  right  of  con- 
science must  give  v\^ay  in  certain  cases;  the 
man  must  endure  the  loss  on  account  of  his 
conscience,  as  in  resisting  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law.  The  law  sets  apart  Sunday  as  a  day  of 
rest,  and  compels  the  Jew  to  respect  it  by  re- 
fraining from  ordinary  work  or  amusement. 
His  conscience  claims  Saturday  as  a  holy  day, 
so  he  is  robbed  of  one-seventh  of  his  time. 
This  is  no  violation  of  the  principle  of  free- 
dom of  conscience.  Quakers  are  disqualified 
by  law  and  restrained  from  all  judicial  posi- 
tions because  their  conscience  will  not  allow 
them  to  administer  an  oath.  If  Brigham 
Young  should  come  with  his  sixty  or  a  hun- 
dred wives  and  settle  in  this  State,  neither  his 
crying  conscience,  nor  his  crying  wives,  nor 
his  crying  infants,  would  keep  him  from  Jo- 
liet.  His  only  hope  would  be  in  the  governor. 
The  highest  law  is  not  freedom  of  individual 
conscience.     It  is  the  good  of  the  State. 

The  question  thus  reduces  to  one  of  utility. 
Is  it  a  fact  that  a  free  government  can  exist 
only  where  the  people  are  virtuous  and  in- 

94 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

telligent?  Then  the  good  of  the  State  forbids 
this  change  in  our  present  system,  and  the  in- 
dividual conscience  must  make  room  for  the 
general  weal. 

Taking  as  the  standard  intellectual  activ- 
ity and  power,  advancement  in  the  varied 
fields  of  science,  progress  in  philosophy,  ma- 
terial prosperity,  the  comforts  and  Christian 
adornments  of  the  home  and  character,  the 
forward  and  upward  movements  in  civiliza- 
tion, taking  these  as  the  standard,  who  can 
point  out  a  single  item  in  which  reading  the 
Bible  has  ever  harmed  any  one?  The  best 
philosophy,  the  most  natural  characters,  the 
sublimest  song,  the  truest  history,  the  richest 
literature,  the  purest  morals,  the  highest  pre- 
cepts that  can  be  found  in  any  language — we 
can  not  shut  this  vast  library,  this  gallery  of 
characters,  against  our  children  without  com- 
mitting a  crime  against  them  whose  penalty 
will  be  the  downfall  of  our  civil  institutions. 
Nothing  that  is  worth  keeping  will  suffer  by 
retaining  the  Bible.  Only  that  which  is 
harmful,  whose  deeds  are  evil,  shuns  the  light. 
So  we  may  know,  as  in  the  light  of  all  history, 
that  whatever  dreads  and  denounces  this  light 
is  dangerous  to  the  Republic. 

This  brings  us  to  another  general  prin- 
95 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ciple  of  unqualified  and  universal  applica- 
tion. The  Republic,  living  only  in  the  day 
and  dying  in  the  darkness,  is  bound  by  the 
highest  law  of  self-preservation  to  tear  away 
everything  that  obscures  the  light,  and  may 
never  under  any  pretext  legislate  to  conceal 
and  protect  that  which  shuns  the  light.  Agi- 
tation is  our  life.  Free  discussion,  the  con- 
stant testing  of  every  dogma  and  opinion  in 
the  boiling  cauldron  of  unrestrained  thought, 
this  is  the  condition  of  our  perpetuity.  If  we 
have  any  errors  in  our  religion  that  will  not 
stand  the  test  of  investigation,  the  State  has 
no  right  under  the  supreme  law  of  the  public 
safety  to  allow  the  cry  of  the  individual  con- 
science to  shield  such  errors  from  logical 
doom.  Applied  to  the  case  in  hand,  it  does 
not  persecute  or  punish  a  man  on  account  of 
his  conscience.  It  only  brings,  in  the  interest 
of  liberty,  a  sickly  conscience  to  the  light 
where  it  may  recover  its  health,  if  it  will,  or 
be  confirmed  in  its  old  convictions,  if  they 
prove  correct.  Thus  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
can  do  no  harm.  The  point  of  conscience  can 
not  be  maintained  in  presence  of  the  public 
good. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  remove  the  Bible 
from  our  public  schools  will  alienate  many  of 

96 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

the  old  friends  of  our  system.  The  present 
foes  will  not  be  appeased,  but  present  friends 
will  be  alienated.  Thus  our  system  weakened 
will  totter  to  its  fall,  and  beneath  its  ruins  you 
will  find  the  fragments  of  the  Republic,  and 
on  its  ruins  will  be  planted  the  thrones  of 
despotism  or  of  anarchy — the  seat  of  an  un- 
scrupulous priesthood,  or  of  a  godless  in- 
fidelity. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  conscience 
plea.  Protestantism  has  a  conscience  as  well 
as  Romanism..  It  does  not  relieve  the  case  to 
ofifend  the  conviction  of  thirty-five  millions 
for  the  appeasement  of  five  millions.  This  is 
not  liberty,  but  despotism.  The  change  is  not 
to  neutrality,  but  to  the  enemy,  to  infidelity. 

Again,  the  thing  is  impossible.  It  is  not 
the  Bible  only,  but  it  is  everything  religious 
that  must  fall  beneath  this  blow.  In  Cincin- 
nati the  school  readers  are  expelled  or  ex- 
purgated. Think  of  the  end  of  this  massacre! 
Everything  that  touches  on  religion,  all  val- 
uable history,  must  be  sealed  up.  The  best 
and  purest  literature  of  the  world  must  perish. 
Newton  and  Addison  die  under  this  rule. 
There  would  be  left  only  the  multiplication 
table  and  the  alphabet.  Further,  this  prin- 
ciple is  suicidal  and  incapable  of  application. 
7  97 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

If  this  loose  and  false  definition  of  freedom 
or  right  of  conscience  is  to  obtain,  there  is 
absolutely  no  limit.  The  Jew's  conscience 
suppresses  every  mention  of  Jesus.  The  Rom- 
anist says,  your  Churches  are  dangerous  to  our 
conscience.  Build  your  churches  like  other 
buildings,  so  our  people  will  not  be  troubled 
when  they  walk  in  processions  through  your 
cities.  The  Mormon  in  conscience  demands 
the  respect  of  the  laws  concerning  bigamy  and 
polygamy.  The  Atheist  says,  change  the 
names  in  your  astronomy.  They  reveal  a 
Bible  which  I  reject,  and  a  God  whom  I  deny. 
John  Chinaman  is  taught  in  his  religion  that 
the  earth  is  flat  and  has  a  mountain  in  it  six 
thousand  miles  high.  So  your  astronomy  and 
geography  must  be  expurgated.  No  more 
oaths  for  witnesses  or  for  installation  of  pub- 
lic officers.  No  more  chaplains  to  accompany 
our  sons  and  comfort  them  w^hen  dying  in  the 
army  or  navy  for  the  defense  of  the  country. 
No  more  prayer  in  the  halls  of  Congress  or  in 
the  State  Assemblies.  No  more  religious  in- 
struction for  the  convicts,  or  reformatory  ef- 
forts in  the  houses  of  correction.  The  prin- 
ciple can  not  be  applied,  and  must  be  aban- 
doned. With  this  fails  the  last  objection  to 
our  present  system. 

98 


THE  13IBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

We  now  affirm  another  proposition  that 
must  settle  all  trouble  on  this  question  in  every 
candid  mind.  ROME  DOES  NOT  WANT  THE 
REMOVAL    OF    THE    BiBLE    FROM    THE    PUBLIC 

SCHOOLS.    She  wants  and  is  seeking  the 

DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  ENTIRE  SYSTEM  OF  PUB- 
LIC SCHOOLS.  I  take  her  on  her  history  and 
at  her  words.  She  claims  the  exclusive  train- 
ing of  children.  In  his  allocution,  the  Pope 
denounces  the  fact  that  ''the  young  are  nearly 
everywhere  withdrawn  from  the  clergy." 
The  Pope's  bull  of  June  22,  1868,  denounces 
the  laws  for  free  schools  (not  under  Romish 
control),  and  free  speech  as  "damnable  here- 
sies," in  ''flagrant  contradiction  with  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Catholic  religion."  A  recent 
trial  in  Ireland  brought  out  the  testimony  of 
a  priest,  "that  he  had  positive  orders  from 
Archbishop  McHale  to  refuse  all  the  sacra- 
ments, even  at  the  hour  of  death,  to  those 
who  sent  their  children  to  the  free  schools."  In 
New  York  City  Protestants  offered  to  read  the 
Douay  Bible,  but  the  Romanists  refused  to 
do  that.  Mr.  Hurlbut  writes  to  the  New 
York  Tribune  from  Hungary,  where  schools 
have  been  taken  out  of  the  priests'  hands. 
He  says  "they  rioted  the  city  and  mobbed 
the  teachers  and  Jewish  children."     It  was 

99 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

no  Bible  question.  It  was  the  simple  fact  of 
a  public  school.  The  Bible  once  out  of  the 
school,  then  the  cry  will  ring  in  the  ears  of 
all  Romanists,  "These  are  godless  schools  and 
must  not  be  touched."  Listen  to  their  words 
of  warning. 

The  JVestern  JVatchman,  the  Romish  or- 
gan of  St.  Louis,  says: 

"The  much  vexed  question  of  Bible  read- 
ing in  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati  is  at 
length  settled.  .  .  .  Not  only  is  the  Bible 
excluded,  but  whatever  else  savors  of  religion. 
.  .  .  No  vestige  of  religious  truth  can  be 
allowed  to  disgrace  the  hallowed  precincts 
of  the  school-room.  ...  If  the  name  of 
the  author  of  Christianity  is  mentioned  at  all, 
He  must  be  spoken  of  as  we  would  speak  of 
Mohammed,  Julius  Caesar,  or  Napoleon. 
Under  no  circumstances  may  we  hint  to  the 
child  that  the  great  Teacher  and  Preacher 
w^as  God.  We  may  not  even  tell  him  that  he 
has  a  soul." 

Now  tell  me,  can  you  furnish  the  priest 
with  a  stronger  leverage  with  which  to  over- 
turn our  school  system?  Read  the  Romish 
papers. 

100 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

The  JVestern  Watchman  says: 

''All  we  have  to  do  is  to  break  down  the 
irresponsible  oligarchy  of  general  school 
boards,  and  substitute  local  boards  with 
power  to  select  teachers,  text-books  and  mode 
of  instruction.  Then  by  proper  combination 
and  co-operation.  Catholic  boards  might  be 
secured  in  many  schools,  and  they,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  be  turned  into  Catholic 
schools." 

The  Tablet,  December  25,  1869,  says: 

''We  demand  of  the  State,  as  our  right, 
either  such  schools  as  our  Church  will  accept, 
or  exemption  from  the  school  tax.  If  it  will 
support  schools  by  the  general  tax,  we  de- 
mand that  it  provide  or  give  us  our  portion 
of  the  public  funds,  and  leave  us  to  provide 
schools  in  which  we  can  educate  our  children 
in  our  own  religion,  under  the  supervision  of 
our  Church. 

"We  hold  education  to  be  a  function  of 
the  Church,  not  of  the  State;  and  in  our  case 
we  do  not,  and  will  not,  accept  the  State  as 
an  educator." 


101 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  Freemans  Journal,  November  20, 
1869,  says: 

^'We  tell  our  respected  contemporary, 
therefore,  that  if  the  Catholic  translation  of 
the  Books  of  Holy  Writ,  which  is  to  be  found 
in  the  homes  of  all  our  better  educated  Catho- 
lics, were  to  be  dissected  by  the  ablest  Catho- 
lic theologians  in  the  land,  and  merely  lessons 
to  be  taken  from  it — such  as  Catholic  mothers 
read  to  their  children;  and  with  all  the  notes 
and  comments,  in  the  popular  edition,  and 
others  added,  with  the  highest  Catholic  en- 
dorsement— and  if  these  admirable  Bible  les- 
sons, and  these  alone,  were  to  be  ruled  as  to  be 
read' in  all  public  schools,  this  w^ould  not  di- 
minish, in  any  substantial  degree,  the  objec- 
tion we  Catholics  have  to  letting  Catholic 
children  attend  the  public  schools. 

"This  declaration  is  very  sweeping,  but 
we  will  prove  its  correctness. 

"First — We  will  not  subject  our  Catholic 
children  to  your  teachers!  You  ought  to 
know  why,  in  a  multitude  of  cases. 

"Second — JVe  will  not  expose  our  Catho- 
lic children  to  association  with  all  the  chil- 
dren who  have  a  right  to  attend  the  public 
schools!    Do  you  know  why? 

102 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

''There  is  no  possible  program  of  common 
school  instruction  that  the  Catholic  Church 
can  permit  her  children  to  accept.  The  Cath- 
olic Church  claims  no  power  to  force  her  in- 
struction on  the  children  of  people  not  Catho- 
lic. But  she  resists  the  assumption  of  whom- 
soever to  force  on  the  little  ones  of  the  Catho- 
lic fold  any  system  of  instruction  that  ignores 
her  teaching,  according  to  which  the  whole 
of  this  life  is  to  fit  children,  and  older  people, 
for  an  eternal  life. 

"It  is  not  that  we  declare  so.  It  is  the 
Catholic  Church.  In  the  famous  'syllabus'  of 
modern  errors,  condemned  by  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  which  neither  Bishop  nor  lay- 
man can  dispute,  without  the  reproach  of  re- 
bellion against  the  Church,  is  the  following 
condemned  as  against  the  faith. 

"The  Catholics  may  approve  the  man  for 
teaching  youth  in  schools  apart  from  the  in- 
culcation of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  from  the 
control  of  the  Catholic  Church;  while  such 
teaching  regards  only,  or  at  least,  chiefly,  the 
mere  knowledge  of  natural  things  and  pur- 
poses of  our  social  life  here  on  earth. 

"This  proposition  is  condemned  by  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  no  Catholic  is  at  liberty 
to  hold  it.     The  Express,  therefore,  may  un- 

103 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

derstand  how  impossible  it  is  for  Catholics 
ever  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  persons 
not  attached  to  any  religion,  in  regard  to 
schools  that  she  requires  to  be  positively  and 
continually  dominated  by  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion/^ 

The  Freeman  s  Journal,  December  ii, 
1869,  says: 

''The  Catholic  solution  of  this  muddle 
about  the  Bible  or  no  Bible  school  is — 'hands 
off!'  No  State  taxation  or  donations  for  any 
schools.  You  look  to  your  children,  and  we 
will  look  to  ours.  We  do  not  want  to  be 
taxed  for  Catholic  schools.  We  do  not  want 
to  be  taxed  for  Protestant,  or  for  godless 
schools.  Let  the  public  school  system  go  to 
where  it  came  from — the  devil.  We  want 
Christian  schools,  and  the  State  can  not  tell 
us  what  Christianity  is." 

The  Catholic  Telegraph,  of  Cincinnati, 
organ  of  Bishop  Purcell,  says: 

"The  secular  school  system  is  a  social  can- 
cer; the  sooner  it  is  destroyed,  the  better." 

Again: 

"It  will  be  a  glorious  day  for  Catholics 
in  this  country  when,  under  the  blows  of  jus- 

104 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

tice  and  morality,  our  school  system  will  be 
shivered  to  pieces;  until  then  modern  Pagan- 
ism will  triumph." 

There  can  remain  no  doubt  that  all  the 
cry  against  the  Bible  is  a  hypocritical  pretext 
on  the  part  of  the  priests.  Let  alone,  the 
people  would  not  object  to  the  Bible.  Let  us 
cry  on  this  with  old  Charles  Pinckney:  "Mil- 
lions for  defense,  but  not  one  cent  for  tribute." 

Thus  clearly  warned,  is  it  not  madness  to 
surrender  to  them  with  the  hope  of  appeasing 
them,  unless  we  do  actually  calculate  to  re- 
nounce our  faith,  our  liberties,  and  our  in- 
stitutions, and  embrace  Romanism  with  her 
infallible  despot?  Shall  we  be  such  slaves 
as  to  deny  the  heroisms  of  the  last  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  and  saddle  ourselves  that 
the  Roman  hierarchy  may  ride  us  with  whip 
and  spur?  Shall  we  be  such  fools  as  to  cut 
our  own  throats  that  we  may  fatten  greedy 
Rome  on  our  best  blood?  She  has  stood  for 
twelve  centuries  the  personified  spirit  of  greed 
and  cruelty.  She  can  never  be  satiated  till 
she  or  the  Republic  is  swept  from  the  earth. 

Take  a  bit  of  school  history.  In  Cincin- 
nati she  made  her  first  objection  in  1842  be- 
cause her  children  were  obliged  to  read  the 

105 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Bible.  Then  they  were  excused.  Did  that 
satisfy  her?  All  she  asked  was  granted,  but 
she  doubled  her  demands.  In  1864  a  con- 
clave of  Romish  Bishops  was  held  in  Balti- 
more, in  which  our  school  system  was  consid- 
ered, and  immediately  there  was  a  general 
attack  upon  our  school  system  from  Maine 
to  California.  It  is  no  war  with  the  accident 
of  a  version,  but  with  our  institutions,  that 
occupies  her  mind,  and  we  may  as  well  ac- 
cept the  issue  as  it  is. 

Before  the  coup  d'etat  of  Napoleon,  Rome 
sent  a  nuncio  to  Napoleon  offering  to  make 
him  emperor  on  these  conditions:  First,  he 
must  maintain  an  army  in  Rome  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  Pope;  second,  he  must  appoint 
as  minister  of  education  the  nominee  of  the 
Jesuits;  third,  he  must  suppress  the  study  of 
philosophy  in  the  University  of  France. 
These  sworn  to  on  the  cross  and  the  Bible,  the 
confessionals  over  France  were  set  at  work, 
and  the  Republic  sank  beneath  the  empire. 
Contending  with  such  a  foe,  shall  we  forget 
all  history  and  surrender  without  a  struggle? 
Shall  we  deliver  into  her  hands  the  keys  of 
the  citadel?  Or  shall  we  learn  a  lesson  from 
the  tragic  fate  of  the  French  Republic  and 


106 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

the  melancholy  and  bloody  story  of  the  South 
American  republics? 

Rome  wants  to  destroy  our  school  system, 
but  in  the  name  of  God  she  shall  not  do  it. 
Freemen  will  stand  about  this  ark  of  our  in- 
spiration, and  when  Rome  gets  her  bloody 
hands  upon  it  she  can  carry  it  away  in  peace, 
for  then  the  freemen  will  be  all  dead.  In 
peace,  did  I  say?  I  recall  it.  Not  in  peace. 
For  though  every  freeman  swelter  in  his  gore, 
even  then  the  heroic  dead,  as  when  Christ  was 
crucified,  on  this  next  crucifixion  will  leap 
from  their  graves  and  pursue  the  terrified 
mobs  from  this  sacred  soil  of  freedom.  Rome 
wants  our  school  money,  and  we  must  watch 
lest  she  seize  it.  She  only  uses  it  for  danger- 
ous purposes.  Go  to  New  York  and  study 
her  temper.  See  how  liberal  she  is  when  she 
has  the  power  even  in  America. 

Study  the  list  of  the  public  offices  held  in 
that  city  by  Roman  Catholics,  and  published 
in  a  late  number  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
viz.: 

"The  sheriff,  register,  comptroller,  city 
chamberlain,  corporation  counsel,  police 
commissioner,  president  of  the  Croton  board, 
acting  mayor,  president  of  the  board  of  alder- 

107 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

men,  president  of  the  board  of  councilmen, 
clerk  of  the  common  council,  clerk  of  the 
board  of  councilmen,  president  of  the  board 
of  supervisors,  five  justices  of  the  courts  of 
record,  all  the  civil  justices,  all  but  two  of  the 
police  justices,  all  the  police  court  clerks, 
three  out  of  four  coroners,  two  members  of 
Congress,  three  out  of  five  State  Senators, 
eighteen  out  of  twenty-one  members  of  the 
Assembly,  fourteen  out  of  nineteen  of  the 
common  council,  and  eight  out  of  ten  of  the 
supervisors!  The  Papal  Church  thus  con- 
trols in  New  York  City,  first,  the  taxation  of 
city  property,  and,  second,  the  appropriation 
of  the  millions  of  revenue  received  from  tax- 
ation." 

The  Christian  World,  of  January,  1870, 
says: 

"And  when  Rome  gets  its  hand  on  the 
public  purse,  does  it  show  itself  democratic 
in  its  administration,  recognizing  no  differ- 
ence of  sects?  In  1863,  in  New  York,  out  of 
$105,000  distributed,  $97,500  went  to  Romish 
institutions.  One  institution  received  $50,- 
000.  In  1866,  out  of  $129,025  appropriated 
by  the  State  of  New  York,  $124,174  were  re- 
ceived   by    Roman    Catholic    establishments. 

108 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

In  1867  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  appro- 
priating $80,000  to  the  society  for  the  protec- 
tion of  destitute  Roman  Catholic  orphan 
children,  or  $1 10  a  head  for  its  whole  number 
of  members.  And  the  New  York  common 
council  appropriations  for  Roman  Catholics 
for  that  year  amount  to  $120,000  more,  most 
of  which  was  allotted  to  schools.  In  1863 
Catholic  institutions  in  New  York  City  re- 
ceived as  donations  from  the  city  government 
$105,000;  in  1864,  $70,000;  in  1865,  $100,000, 
and  last  winter  an  appropriation  of  over 
$200,000  to  Roman  Catholic  purposes  was  se- 
cured through  the  New  York  tax  levy." 

Read  Dr.  Leiber's  report  to  the  New  York 
Union  League: 

''During  the  last  year,  out  of  a  total  State 
appropriation  for  the  city  of  $528,742.47,  no 
less  than  $412,062.26,  or  more  than  four- 
fifths  of  the  whole,  w^ent  to  Roman  Catholic 
schools,  of  which  eighty  are  maintained 
chiefly  by  this  means.  The  following  are  the 
figures  showing  the  amount  voted  to  each  re- 
ligious sect: 

Roman  Catholic, $412,062.26 

Protestant  Episcopal, 29,335.09 

Hebrew, 14,404.49 

109 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Reformed  Dutch, 12,630.86 

Presbyterian, 8,363.44 

Baptist, 2,760.34 

Methodist  Episcopal, 3,073.03 

German  Evangelical, 2,027.24 

Miscellaneous, 44,085.12 

Total, $528,742.47 

"The  Catholic  denomination  had,  in  i860, 
24  churches  out  of  252,  with  seats  for  33,576 
persons,  out  of  234,730  furnished  by  all  de- 
nominations, and  a  total  number  usually  at- 
tending of  78,488,  out  of  222,550  of  all  de- 
nominations. Having  one-ninth  as  many 
churches  as  the  Protestants,  seating  one-sixth 
as  many  persons,  and  with  but  little  more 
than  one-third  as  many  attendants  upon  their 
worship,  they  draw  four  times  as  much  pub- 
lic money.  This  is  thirty-six  times  their  pro- 
portion according  to  the  number  of  their 
churches,  twenty-four  times  as  much  as  their 
share  on  the  basis  of  seats  for  worship,  and  at 
least  ten  times  their  quota  according  to  the 
number  of  worshipers.  Last  year  they  in- 
serted in  the  tax  levy  a  clause  giving  the  sum 
of  $2,000,000  per  annum,  to  be  distributed 
perpetually  by  'an  officer  to  be  appointed  by 
the  Board  of  Education'  among  the  schools 
'educating  children  gratuitously  in  said  city 

110 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

who  are  not  provided  for  in  the  common 
schools.'  Nine-tenths  of  this  fund  will  thus 
go  into  special  Catholic  schools,  although 
Roman  Catholic  officers  have  almost  entire 
control  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city  as 
well,  and  the  latter  have  39,000  vacant  seats, 
are  better  furnished,  better  lighted,  and  better 
taught  than  the  private  schools,  and  are  free 
from  Protestant  religious  instruction  of  any- 
kind. 

Besides  this,  the  report  alleges  that  in 
1866,  for  one  dollar  a  year,  the  city  govern- 
ment gave  to  the  Catholic  Archbishop  half  a 
block  of  ground  on  Madison,  toward  Fourth 
Avenue,  worth  now  $200,000.  In  1852  they 
gave  him,  in  fee,  the  whole  block  lying  be- 
tween Fourth  and  Fifth  Avenues  and  Fiftieth 
and  Fifty-first  Streets,  by  changing  a  lease 
into  a  fee,  for  the  sum  of  $83.32.  Then,  in 
1864,  they  paid  the  same  Archbishop  $24,000 
for  the  privilege  of  extending  Madison  Ave- 
nue across  this  block,  and  donated  him  $8,928 
to  pay  all  assessments  on  this  block  for  the 
expense  of  opening  the  street.  This  gift  is 
now  worth  $1,500,000.  In  1846  and  1857 
they  gave  the  Archbishop  the  block  bounded 
by  Fourth  and  Fifth  Avenues  and  Fifty-first 
and  Fifty-second  streets,  now  worth  another 

111 


ADDRESSES    ON    xNOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

$1,500,000.  The  city  has  thus  given  $3,200,- 
000  worth  of  real  estate  to  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics." 

The  question  comes,  shall  we  surrender 
everything  to  Rome?  Is  she  a  good  foster- 
mother  for  liberty?  Will  she  nourish  our 
schools?     Is  she  a  good  teacher? 

Listen  to  the  words  of  Victor  Hugo  to  the 
priestly  party: 

"Ah,  we  know  you!  We  know  the  cleri- 
cal party.  It  is  an  old  party.  This  is  it  which 
has  found  for  the  truth  these  two  marvelous 
supporters,  ignorance  and  error!  This  it  is 
which  forbids  to  science  and  genius  the  go- 
ing beyond  the  missal  and  which  wishes  to 
cloister  thought  in  dogmas.  Every  step 
which  the  intelligence  of  Europe  has  taken 
has  been  in  spite  of  it.  Its  history  is  written 
in  the  history  of  human  progress,  but  it  is 
written  on  the  back  of  the  leaf.  It  is  opposed 
to  it  all.  This  it  is  which  caused  Prinelli  to 
be  scourged  for  having  said  that  the  stars 
would  not  fall.  This  it  is  which  put  Campa- 
nella  seven  times  to  the  torture  for  having  af- 
firmed that  the  number  of  worlds  was  infinite, 
and  for  having  caught  a  glimpse  at  the  secret 
of    creation.      This    it    is    which    persecuted 

112 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

Harvey  for  having  proved  the  circulation  of 
the  blood.  In  the  name  of  Jesus,  it  shut  up 
Galileo.  In  the  name  of  St.  Paul,  it  impris- 
oned Christopher  Columbus.  To  discover  a 
law  of  the  heavens  was  an  impiety.  To  find  a 
world  was  a  heresy.  This  it  is  which  ana- 
thematized Pascal  in  the  name  of  religion, 
Montesquieu  in  the  name  of  morality,  Moliere 
in  the  name  of  both  morality  and  religion. 
.  .  .  For  a  long  time  already  the  human 
conscience  has  revolted  against  you,  and  now 
demands  of  you,  'What  is  it  that  you  wish  of 
me?'  For  a  long  time  already  you  have  tried 
to  put  a  gag  on  the  human  intellect.  You 
wish  to  be  the  masters  of  education.  And 
there  is  not  a  poet,  nor  an  author,  nor  a  phi- 
losopher, nor  a  thinker,  that  you  accept.  All 
that  has  been  written,  found,  dreamed,  de- 
duced, inspired,  imagined,  invented  by  gen- 
ius, the  treasures  of  civilization,  the  venerable 
inheritance  of  generations,  the  common  patri- 
mony of  knowledge,  you  reject. 

''There  is  a  book,  a  book  which  is,  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  an  emanation  from  above 
— a  book  which  is  for  the  whole  world  what 
the  Koran  is  for  Islamism,  what  the  Vedas 
are  for  India — a  book  which  contains  all 
human  wisdom,  illuminated  by  all  divine 
8  113 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

wisdom,  a  book  which  the  veneration  of  the 
people  call  The  Book,  the  Bible!  Well  your 
censure  has  reached  even  that.  Unheard 
of  thing!  Popes  have  proscribed  the  Bible! 
How  astonishing  to  wise  spirits,  how  over- 
powering to  simple  hearts,  to  see  the  finger  of 
Rome  placed  upon  the  Book  of  God! 

''And  you  claim  the  liberty  of  teaching. 
Stop,  be  sincere;  let  us  understand  the  liberty 
which  you  claim.  It  is  the  liberty  of  not 
teaching.  You  wish  us  to  give  you  the  people 
to  instruct.  Very  well.  Let  me  see  your  pu- 
pils! Let  us  see  those  whom  you  have  pro- 
duced. What  have  you  done  for  Italy? 
What  have  you  done  for  Spain?  For  centu- 
ries you  have  kept  in  your  hand,  at  your  dis- 
cretion, at  your  school,  these  two  great  na- 
tions, illustrious  among  the  illustrious.  What 
have  you  done  for  them?  I  am  going  to  tell 
you.  Thanks  to  you,  Italy  whose  name  no 
man  who  thinks  can  any  longer  pronounce 
without  an  inexpressible  filial  emotion;  Italy, 
mother  of  genius  and  of  nations,  which  has 
spread  over  the  universe  all  the  most  bril- 
liant marvels  of  poetry  and  the  arts;  Italy, 
which  has  taught  mankind  how  to  read,  and 
knows  not  how  to  read!  Yes,  Italy  is,  of  all 
the  States  of  Europe,  that  where  the  smallest 

114 


THE  BIBLE  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

number  of  natives  know  how  to  read.  Spain, 
magnificently  endowed;  Spain,  which  re- 
ceived from  the  Romans  her  first  civilization, 
from  the  Arabs  her  second  civilization,  from 
Providence,  and  in  spite  of  you,  a  world, 
America;  Spain,  thanks  to  you,  to  your  yoke 
of  stupor,  which  is  a  yoke  of  degradation  and 
decay,  Spain  has  lost  this  secret  power,  which 
it  had  from  the  Romans;  this  genius  of  art, 
which  it  had  from  God,  and  in  exchange  for 
all  that  you  have  made  it  lose,  it  has  received 
from  you  the  Inquisition.  The  Inquisition, 
which  has  burned  on  funeral  pile  millions 
of  men;  the  Inquisition,  which  disinterred  the 
dead  to  bury  them  as  heretics ;  which  declared 
the  children  of  heretics,  even  to  the  second 
generation,  infamous  and  incapable  of  any 
public  honors,  excepting  only  those  who  shall 
have  denounced  their  fathers;  the  Inquisition, 
which,  while  I  speak,  still  holds  in  the  Papal 
library  the  manuscripts  of  Galileo,  sealed  un- 
der the  Papal  signet!  These  are  your  master- 
pieces. The  fire,  which  we  call  Italy,  you 
have  extinguished.  This  colossus  that  we  call 
Spain,  you  have  undermined.  The  one  in 
ashes,  the  other  in  ruins.  This  is  what  you 
have  done  for  two  great  nations.  What  do 
you  wish  to  do  for  France? 

115 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

'^Stop,  you  have  just  come  from  Rome!  I 
can  not  congratulate  you.  You  have  had  fine 
success  there.  You  come  from  gagging  the 
Roman  people;  now  you  wish  to  gag  the 
French  people,  I  understand.  This  attempt 
is  still  more  fine;  but  take  care,  it  is  danger- 
ous.    France  is  a  lion,  and  is  alive!" 

We  catch  the  note.  Protestantism  is  a 
lion,  and  is  alive.  She  sleeps,  but  she  may 
awaken.  Beware !  when  she  awakes  and  goes 
forth  in  her  strength,  the  bulls  of  Popes,  and 
the  anathemas  of  Archbishops,  and  the 
whimpering  of  priests  will  be  but  as  dust  and 
ashes.  Rome  may  exaggerate  her  numbers 
till  she  deceives  herself  into  premature  at- 
tempts at  despotism,  but  that  will  only  hasten 
her  final  overthrow.  While  I  would  counsel 
Rome  to  greater  moderation,  I  still  thank 
Father  Hecker  and  the  Paulus  and  the 
Jesuits,  for  revealing  their  designs.  The  gust 
of  local  success  in  New  York  city  has  lifted 
the  silver  veil  of  this  prophet — this  veiled 
Mokanna,  and  we  have  seen  the  hideous 
features  of  the  monster,  and  with  our  fathers 
cry  out  of  our  hearts,  forever  and  forever, 
"No  PEACE  WITH  THE  PAPACY,  AND  NO  COM- 
PROMISE WITH  Rome." 


116 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 


On  motion  of  Bishop  Fowler,  the  Board  of  Bishops  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  decided  to  make  an 
appeal  for  the  raising  of  a  $20,000,000  thank-offer- 
ing fund  throughout  the  Church.  He  was  appointed 
by  the  Board  of  Bishops  to  write  the  appeal,  which 
was  done  in  January,  1899.  More  than  $21,000,000 
was  raised  following  the  inspiration  of  this  appeal. 


117 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS. 

Put  thy  hands  between  the  King's  hands. 

When  William  the  Conqueror  undertook 
a  campaign  for  the  conquest  of  a  new  district 
in  England,  he  would  send  for  the  earls  and 
lords  whose  help  he  especially  needed,  and 
ask  them  to  put  their  hands  between  his  hands 
for  the  campaign.  They  would  put  their 
hands  between  his  hands,  saying:  "We  put 
our  hands  between  your  hands,  to  be  your 
true  men  and  loyal  for  this  campaign." 

The  Board  of  Bishops  has  called  upon  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  make  a  great 
forward  movement  for  widening  the  kingdom 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  this  world,  to  bring  a  great 
offering  into  His  treasury  as  an  expression  of 
our  gratitude — a  "Twentieth  Century  Thank- 
offering"  for  the  rich  and  unnumbered  bless- 
ings He  has  poured  upon  us  as  a  Church  dur- 
ing this  nineteenth  century  now  closing.  We 
are  called  from  every  plain  and  valley,  from 
every  hilltop  and  mountain-side,  from  every 
city  and  hamlet,  from  every  home  and  hearth, 
to  come  up  to  the  camp  of  our  King  and  put 

119 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

our  hands  between  the  King's  hands,  to  be  His 
true  men  and  loyal  for  this  campaign. 

Two  Million  Converts  and  Twenty  Mil- 
lions OF  Money. 

This  is  the  call.  Like  an  electric  engine, 
it  can  run  either  end  forward.  With  the  con- 
verts the  money  will  come.  With  the  money 
the  converts  will  come.  ''Bring  ye  all  the 
tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be 
meat  in  Mine  house,  and  prove  Me  now  here- 
with, saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not 
open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour 
you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it."     (Mai.  iii,  lo.) 

Methodism  came  into  this  century  few  in 
numbers,  poor  in  worldly  possessions,  and 
meager  in  scholarship,  having  only  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight  ministers,  sixty-four 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-four 
members,  with  but  little  Church  property, 
and  only  the  ashes  of  one  college.  She  goes 
out  of  the  century  in  sixteen  great  bands  or 
denominations,  having  thirty-eight  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifty-two  traveling  minis- 
ters, six  million  two  hundred  thirteen  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  twenty-five  members, 
with  numberless  universities,  theological  sem- 

120 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

inaries  and  colleges,  and  over  $250,000,000  of 
church  property.  She  came  into  this  century 
strong  in  courage,  rich  in  faith,  and  invincible 
in  sacrifice.  It  behooves  us  to  see  to  it  that 
our  particular  denomination  goes  not  out  of 
this  century  weak  in  courage,  poor  in  faith,  or 
covs^ardly  in  sacrifice.  As  Paul  boasted  of  be- 
ing ''a  Hebrew^  of  the  Hebrews,"  good  blood 
on  both  sides  of  the  house,  so  we  are  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  double  martyrs — martyrs 
for  the  Church  they  created  and  defended, 
and  martyrs  for  the  country  they  redeemed 
and  delivered — heroic  blood  on  both  sides  of 
the  house.  We  have  no  moral  right  to  be  lit- 
tle or  mean  or  timid.  Sprung  from  a  royal 
ancestry,  we  must  bring  royal  gifts,  like  the 
wise  men  from  the  East,  and  lay  them  at  the 
feet  of  our  Redeemer. 

Great  Forces. 

We  are  in  a  great  conflict,  handling  and 
handled  by  vast  energies.  Working  with  the 
limitless  forces  of  steam,  lightning,  and  light, 
and  redeeming  time  down  to  the  millionth 
part  of  a  second,  and  measuring  distances 
down  to  the  millionth  part  of  an  inch,  we  can 
not  loiter  by  the  century  with  Methuselah, 
nor  wander  aimlessly  in  the  desert  with  Abra- 

121 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ham.  We  are  risen  into  divine  times,  when 
a  day  is  as  a  thousand  years.  And  our 
achievements  must  fit  into  our  environment. 
May  the  God  of  our  fathers  put  upon  us  a 
just  measure  of  our  responsibilities,  and  help 
us  to  put  our  hands  between  the  King's  hands! 

Our  Fault. 

Great  as  have  been  our  blessings  during 
this  century,  the  meagerness  of  the  results  of 
the  last  years  calls  us  to  thoughtfulness  and 
prayer,  and  to  humiliation.  God  never  cools 
in  love,  nor  lags  in  desire,  nor  weakens  in 
power.  His  arm  is  not  shortened  that  He 
can  not  save.  We  must  candidly  look  to  our- 
selves for  the  explanation  of  our  failures. 
Even  Jesus,  in  His  own  country,  ''did  not 
many  mighty  works  there  because  of  their  un- 
belief." May  not  the  Savior  be  standing  in 
our  midst,  weeping  and  saying,  "Ye  will  not 
come  unto  Me  that  ye  may  have  life?" 

Revivals. 

Methodism  has  marched  up  to  her  present 
vantage  ground  on  her  knees,  by  the  altar  of 
prayer  and  by  the  mourners'  bench.  In  schol- 
arship, in  wealth,  and  in  social  prestige,  she 

122 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

has  been  surpassed  in  each  of  these  respects 
by  some  sister  denomination.  These  elegant 
sisters,  beautiful  in  their  equipment,  like  the 
lithe  hare,  were  well  through  the  race  when 
Methodism,  like  the  clumsy  tortoise,  was 
trundling  along  on  her  knees.  God  gave  her 
the  secret  of  success  in  prayer.  Her  victory 
is  from  supernatural  forces.  If  she  exchanges 
the  Word  of  authority  for  the  rhetoric  of  the 
preacher,  and  the  penitent's  bench  for  the  pro- 
fessor's desk,  and  the  faith  of  the  itinerant  for 
the  conceit  of  the  higher  critic,  and  the  super- 
natural power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  hesi- 
tating formulas  of  mere  human  reasoning,  she 
must  part  company  with  impulsive  Peter  and 
resistless  Paul,  and  drop  back  to  sulk  with 
doubting  Thomas,  or  do  worse  with  poor 
Judas  Iscariot.  She  must  persist  in  her  time- 
honored  and  God-honored  revivals,  which 
have  saved  her  own  millions,  chiefly  captured 
as  trophies  from  the  enemy,  and  have  saved 
a  large  per  cent  of  the  other  millions  of  Prot- 
estantism. She  must  keep  her  penitent's  altar 
quivering  with  divine  power;  for  a  Church, 
without  saving  power,  will  soon  be  a  Church 
without  a  divine  Savior.  Back  to  your  knees 
and  to  your  altars,  O  Methodism!  Send  up 
the   agonizing  cry   from   every   Church   and 

123 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

from  every  family  altar.  Two  million  con- 
verts in  the  two  remaining  years  before  the 
century  closes.  As  John  Knox  stood  all  night 
on  his  calloused  knees,  crying,  ''Give  me  Scot- 
land, or  I  die,"  so  let  us  cry  unto  God  might- 
ily, "Give  us  two  million  converts  before  this 
century  closes."  'Tut  thy  hands  between  the 
Kine's  hands." 


Double  Abrasion. 

Methodism  is  losing  parts  of  her  domain 
on  each  side.  Like  an  island  in  a  divided  cur- 
rent, she  must  protect  herself  on  both  sides 
with  piers  and  breakwaters.  On  one  side 
workers  in  the  submerged  tenth  are  doing  the 
work  that  once  made  Methodism  rich  in  con- 
verts and  saints.  On  the  other  side,  in  the 
upper  tenth,  many  clever  souls  are  satisfied 
with  a  system  that  seems  to  have  but  little  of 
the  cross  in  its  Christianity,  and  are  thus  drift- 
ing from  our  altars.  Some  new  baptism  of 
power  is  needed  for  these  souls,  that  would 
satisfy  every  want  of  the  heart  with  the  full- 
ness of  a  perfect  redemption  and  a  perfect  Re- 
deemer. Some  new  baptism  of  labor  is 
needed  to  so  push  our  membership  out  into  all 
fields  that  there  would  remain  no  unreached 

124 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

submerged  tenth.    Methodism  must  not  allow 
her  candle  to  be  burned  at  both  ends. 

What  are  the  spirit  and  power  of  the  main 
body  of  the  Church  itself?  There  are  signs 
for  anxiety  at  the  top  and  at  the  bottom;  is 
the  trunk  sound  and  well? 

The  Epworth  League. 

The  Epworth  League,  providentially  cre- 
ated, is  a  great,  energetic  section  of  the 
Church.  Full  of  labor  and  stirred  with  zeal, 
may  it  not  be  that  a  stronger  bent  toward 
spiritual  results  would  make  the  results  of  this 
vast  machine,  in  many  places,  more  substan- 
tial and  actual?  In  many  chapters  these 
much-to-be-desired  literary  and  social  forces 
await  the  touch  of  a  higher  life  and  the  light 
of  a  more  single  eye.  This  vast  force  may 
be  easily  brought  into  magnificent  shape  to 
be  used  for  higher  designs.  When  God  made 
man  He  fashioned  him  into  beauty,  molded 
the  limbs,  bored  and  filled  the  bones,  rounded 
and  stored  the  skull,  stretched  the  arteries  and 
veins,  w^ove  the  nerves,  spread  the  cuticle, 
formed  the  eye,  and  shaped  the  heart.  But 
that  was  not  man.  That  was  only  the  most 
perfect  form  of  lower  animal  life.    God  came 

125 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

down  to  this  shapely  form,  took  it  up  in  His 
hands,  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of  life, 
and  it  became  a  living  soul.  The  dull  eyes 
opened  and  caught  the  light  from  the  over- 
brooding  Creator.  The  heavy  heart  began  its 
ceaseless  beating,  and  beat  back  the  warm 
throbbings  of  the  Infinite  heart  that  fash- 
ioned it.  The  heavy  brain,  kindled  by  the 
presence  of  the  Infinite  mind,  sent  out  its 
quick  and  quivering  thoughts  to  run  along 
God's  great  thoughts.  Then  man  stood  up 
erect  on  the  plane  of  probation,  a  possible 
saint  and  child  of  God,  with  energies  that 
could  never  waste.  So  it  may  be  with  this 
Epworth  League.  It  has  been  fashioned  into 
beauty  and  symmetry  by  the  great  artificer, 
the  Church.  But  it  can  have  the  touch  of  the 
Infinite  Father  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  If  in  answer  to  the  prayer  and 
faith  of  the  Church  it  can  be  filled  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  it  will  rise  to  its  highest  field  of 
activity  and  lift  the  whole  Church  into  a 
higher  life,  full  of  uncounted  conquests  for 
the  coming  century.  Sons  and  daughters  of 
the  Church,  hosts  of  the  Epworth  League, 
put  your  hands  between  the  hands  of  the 
King,  for  a  new,  a  spiritual  campaign. 


126 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

Witness  of  the  Spirit. 

Let  me  speak  to  the  great  hosts  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  our  membership.  Is  it  not  true 
that  many  live  on  and  on  in  the  Church  on 
a  plane  below  their  privilege?  Are  there  not 
many  who  fail  of  the  rich  assurance  of  faith 
that  comes  from  the  witness  of  the  Spirit? 
They  plod  on,  hoping  for  a  better  experience, 
hungry  in  heart,  yet  never  actually  having  a 
satisfactory  experience.  Many  who  would 
be  glad  to  have  the  deep  certainty  of  God's 
witnessing  Spirit?  The  thirteenth  chapter  of 
first  Corinthians  makes  this  experience  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Hear  me.  This  great  doc- 
trine and  experience  form  the  purpose  for 
which  Methodism  was  called  into  being.  We 
are  in  the  world  to  teach  and  illustrate  a 
knowable  religion.  The  world  was  full,  in 
the  days  of  Wesley,  with  Old  Testament  be- 
lievers, who  had  only  a  hope  of  a  hope.  God 
wanted  a  Church  with  a  knowable  experience. 
So  He  called  John  Wesley  to  teach  a  con- 
scious salvation.  Wherever  he  and  his  fol- 
lowers went  men  rose  up  and  said:  "I  feel 
that  I  am  a  sinner."  Then  they  testified:  'T 
feel  that  my  sins  are  all  forgiven;"  "The  Son 
of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins;" 

127 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

*'God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  my  sins." 
This  is  the  mission  of  Methodism.  And  her 
power  is  in  proportion  to  the  clearness  of  the 
testimony  of  her  witnesses.  She  teaches  free 
agency.  She  teaches  justification  by  faith. 
She  teaches  the  necessity  of  both  faith  and 
works ;  but  these  are  not  the  distinguishing 
doctrines  of  Methodism.  The  great  doctrine 
of  Methodism  is  the  doctrine  of  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit.  This  is  that  supernatural  fire 
that  strangely  warmed  John  Wesley's  heart. 
This  is  that  inborn  sense,  down  deep  in  con- 
sciousness, deeper  than  logic,  more  certain 
than  reasoning,  that  we  are  accepted  of  God, 
whereby  we  cry,  "Abba,  Father."  This  en- 
ables one  who  is  cast  down  and  penitent,  lying 
on  his  face  and  praying  for  pardon,  suddenly 
to  look  up  into  the  face  of  God  as  to  a  father. 
This  is  that  power  that  banishes  fear,  and 
gives  one  that  quiet,  cuddling,  home  feeling 
down  in  the  heart.  This  is  the  assurance  of 
peace  that  endues  with  power.  This  is  the 
supreme  verdict  which  alone  can  face  the 
judgment  bar.  Nothing  less  is  safe.  Have 
you  this  witness?  Brother,  ask  yourself;  sis- 
ter, ask  yourself,  "Have  I  this  all-satisfying 
witness?"  I  am  on  trial  for  my  soul.  My 
case  is  being  made  up.     The  jury  will  soon 

128 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

go  out.  Its  verdict  is  final.  I  must  know  be- 
yond a  doubt  what  their  verdict  will  be.  It 
will  either  set  me  free  to  walk  with  open  face 
and  glad  heart  about  the  city  of  God,  with 
the  good  and  great  of  all  ages  forever,  or  it 
will  assign  me  to  that  lone  land  where  mercy 
and  hope  never  come.  I  can  not  trust  my 
own  judgment;  I  am  little,  ignorant,  often 
and  easily  deceived,  much  prejudiced;  I  may 
be  wrong;  I  must  have  an  infallible  testi- 
mony. This  I  may  have  in  the  witness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Beloved,  have  you  this  witness 
of  the  Spirit?  You  may  have.  Pray  mightily 
that  this  may  come  to  you  and  be  the  rich  en- 
duement  of  power  for  the  whole  Church. 
With  this  clear  witness  all  minor  questions 
will  be  settled.  It  will  settle  all  questions  of 
grade  in  the  ministry,  except  the  grade  of  di- 
vine power.  You  will  be  led  into  all  truth. 
Your  path  will  grow  brighter  and  brighter 
unto  the  perfect  day. 

This  is  the  supreme  gift.  Jesus  said:  ''It 
is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away."  What 
could  make  it  expedient  for  the  infant  Church 
to  have  Jesus  leave  them?  He  had  been  all 
things  unto  them.  He  had  been  to  them  the 
Peasant  of  Nazareth,  Prophet  of  God,  Son  of 
God,  and  God  over  all,  blessed  for  evermore, 
9  129 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Yet  it  was  expedient  for  them  to  have  Him  go 
away.  For  Jesus  says:  ''If  I  go  not  away,  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  not  come  unto  you."  The 
Spirit  is  the  promise  of  the  Father.  Let  every 
Methodist,  man,  woman  and  child,  pray  for 
the  personal  witness  of  the  Spirit  and  for  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  whole 
Church.  This  w^ill  secure  the  power  of  the 
Church  and  the  supreme  and  acceptable 
twentieth  century  thank-offering.  Give  your- 
self, then  you  will  gladly  give  whatever  God 
wants.  Put  your  hand  between  the  King's 
hands,  and  He  will  secure  the  rest. 

How  Secured. 

Shall  I  tell  you  how  to  secure  this  price- 
less treasure,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit?  I  will, 
God  helping  me.  Wherever  you  are,  in  pro- 
bation between  the  gate  of  eternal  death  and 
the  gate  of  eternal  life,  God's  plan  and 
promise  can  reach  you.  His  promises  reach 
every  inch  of  the  road.  If  you  are  so  near 
doom  that  the  ground  is  already  hot  beneath 
your  feet,  halt,  turn,  quit  your  flirting  with 
evil.  That  is  the  start  toward  life.  Cease  to 
do  evil,  and  learn  to  do  good.  "Let  the 
wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts;  and  let  him  return  unto  the 

130 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

Lord,  and  He  will  have  mercy  upon  him;  and 
to  our  God,  for  He  will  abundantly  pardon." 
If  you  are  farther  up,  nearer  life,  but  in  cold- 
ness and  heaviness,  then  take  the  word:  "Let 
us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  that 
doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking 
unto  Jesus  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith."  If  you  are  still  farther  up  the  path, 
then  secure  that  love,  that  true  love,  which 
changes  the  I,  the  me,  the  mine,  into  the 
Thou,  the  Thee,  the  Thine ;  that  makes  obe- 
dience spontaneous  and  service  a  delight.  By 
surrender,  prayer,  fasting,  if  need  be — -for 
there  is  a  kind  that  goeth  not  out  but  by 
prayer  and  fasting — secure  that  supreme  love 
that  loves  God  with  all  the  heart,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself;  that  love  which  the  thir- 
teenth chapter  of  First  Corinthians  makes 
absolutely  necessary  to  any  hope  of  heaven, 
without  which  everything  else  is  absolutely 
nothing;  that  love  which  sufTereth  long  and 
is  kind,  envieth  not,  "vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not 
puffed  up,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly, 
seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  provoked, 
thinketh  no  evil,"  beareth,  believeth,  hopeth, 
endurcth  all  things.  Dear  Methodist,  have 
you  this  absolutely  necessary  love,  so  fine,  so 

131 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

high,  so  sweet,  so  divine?  Without  this  love 
reaching  out  to  your  fellow-man  and  up  to 
God,  you  arc  nothing,  we  are  nothing,  the 
Church  is  nothing. 

The  Leaders  are  Responsible. 

We  must  go  out  of  this  century  as  brave 
and  believing  and  sacrificing  as  our  fathers 
came  into  it.  Brothers  in  our  pulpits,  a 
stream  never  rises  above  its  source.  Like 
preacher,  like  people.  How  we  need  to 
watch  and  pray,  lest  our  lights  should  burn 
dim  or  go  out. 

God  Waits  for  Us. 

God  waits  on  us  for  power  among  men. 
When  we  insist  God  answers  with  all  the 
forces  of  His  government.  Moses  stands  on 
a  projecting  table-land  of  Sinai,  overlooking 
the  camp  of  Israel,  in  the  presence  of  his  an- 
gered God.  God,  pointing  to  Israel  bowed 
before  the  golden  calf,  says  to  Moses:  ''Go, 
get  thee  down  to  thy  people,  for  they  have 
corrupted  themselves."  Moses,  who  the  other 
day  feared  to  stand  before  poor  little  Pharaoh, 
now,  in  the  hour  of  trial  and  destiny,  stands 
bravely  before  his  angered  God,  and  says: 
"Why  is  Thine   anger  kindled   against   Thy 

132 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

people,  whom  Thou  broughtest  out  of  the 
land  of  bondage?"  Moses  clings,  as  it  were, 
to  the  very  vesture  of  the  Lord,  and  will  not 
let  Him  go.  The  Lord  says:  "Let  Me  alone, 
that  Mine  anger  may  wax  hot  against  them." 
Moses  says :  ''What  will  the  heathen  say,  that 
Thou  broughtest  Thy  people  out  into  the  wil- 
derness to  slay  them?"  Then  the  Lord,  as  if 
to  buy  off  Moses,  says:  'T  will  make  of  thee 
a  great  people."  Moses  stands  firm,  and  says: 
"Where  is  Thy  promise  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac, 
and  to  Jacob?  If  Thy  word  will  not  hold, 
then  blot  me  out  of  Thy  book,  but  spare  Is- 
rael." This  heroic  man,  offering  himself  and 
pleading  the  integrity  and  honor  of  God,  pre- 
vailed and  saved  Israel.  Brothers,  we  stand 
between  God  and  our  Methodism.  If  we 
hold  on  to  God  with  believing,  self-sacrificing 
purpose.  He  will  save  and  baptize  our 
Church  with  power,  and  swing  us  into  the 
twentieth  century  for  a  mightier  work  than 
any  we  have  ever  seen  or  of  which  we  have 
ever  heard. 

Hooper  Crews  was  pastor  of  our  Church 
at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  was  awakened 
one  summer  by  his  report  to  the  Quarterly 
Conference  to  find  that  his  Church  was  de- 
clining.    He  was  sore  distressed  and  prayed 

133 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

much,  fearing  he  had  outlived  his  call.  One 
summer  Sabbath  night,  in  the  midst  of  the 
harvest  time,  he  announced  to  a  little  congre- 
gation a  prayer-meeting  for  Monday  morn- 
ing, at  sunrise,  for  the  revival  of  God's  work 
and  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Then  he  gave 
that  night  to  agonizing  prayer.  A  little  be- 
fore daylight  his  burden  left  him,  and  he  fell 
asleep  on  a  lounge  in  his  study.  He  awoke  to 
see  the  first  beams  of  the  morning  sun.  Look- 
ing down  into  the  churchyard,  he  saw  that  it 
was  full  of  people,  and  the  church  was  full 
of  people,  and  the  street  was  full  of  teams. 
Men  as  far  as  nine  miles  away  from  the 
church  had  awakened  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  alarmed,  fearing  that  the  judgment  day 
was  coming,  took  their  teams,  and  drove  to  the 
church  with  their  families,  to  see  if  they  could 
find  God  and  mercy.  Brother  Crews  said: 
"We  went  into  the  church  and  opened  the 
prayer-meeting;  we  closed  it  that  night  at 
eleven  o'clock  with  twenty-eight  conversions, 
as  the  beginning  of  a  sweeping  revival." 
Brothers,  if  we  will  consecrate  ourselves  to 
God  without  reserve,  and  cling  to  God,  taking 
no  denial,  He  will  honor  our  faith  and  bless 
our  Methodism  with  a  century  of  unprece- 
dented achievements. 

134 


APPEAL  FOR  TWENTY  MILLIONS 

Brothers,  sisters,  Methodists,  Bishops,  pre- 
siding elders,  pastors,  class  leaders,  stewards, 
trustees,  superintendents,  teachers,  and  mem- 
bers, listen:  Enter  into  the  secret  chamber  of 
your  own  soul;  answer  to  the  divine  Spirit 
who  graciously  meets  you  there  and  whispers 
to  you.  Tell  him:  ^T  will  seek  God  till  I  find 
Him  a  satisfying  portion,  and  serve  Him  in 
all  things,  great  or  small,  till  I  die.  I  will 
ask  for  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  till  I  receive 
it,  and  will  keep  it  every  hour  forever."  Let 
us  put  our  hands  between  the  King's  hands. 


135 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 


Delivered  at  the  Wesley  Bi-centennial  Celebration  in 

People's  Temple,   Boston,   on    Tuesday 

evening,  June  29,  1903. 


137 


WESLEY ANIZING  THE  WORLD 

It  takes  a  big  stamp  to  impress  the  world. 
Most  men  do  well  to  impress  their  own  fami- 
lies. Few  men  leave  their  image  and  super- 
scription upon  their  own  nation.  It  is  only 
once  in  five  or  ten  centuries  that  a  man  comes 
our  way  big  enough  to  make  a  bend  in  the 
stream  of  human  history.  To  look  back  over 
the  bulge  of  two  centuries  and  see  a  man  so 
filling  the  field  of  vision  that  thoughtful  men 
soberly  discuss  the  question  of  his  being  a 
recognized  force  in  shaping  the  character  of 
the  human  race,  is  to  settle  the  question  of  his 
phenomenal  greatness.  He  must  be  tall 
enough  to  be  an  epoch-maker.  We  may  well 
be  content  to  admire  and  imitate  and  run  after 
him  and  wait  for  our  obscure  graves.  Such 
a  character  calls  us  together  at  this  time. 

Rightly  to  measure  the  spaces  between  the 
fixed  stars,  we  must  take  the  wide  orbit  of  the 
sun  as  our  meter,  our  unit.  Rightly  to  meas- 
ure John  Wesley,  we  must  take  some  of  the 
great  characters  that  Time  has  only  dug 
about,  and  the  dust  of  oblivion  has  only  fruc- 

139 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

tified,  as  our  standards  and  units  of  measure. 
The  multitude  of  difficulties  and  antagonisms 
that  hedged  his  way  were  only  the  scaffolding 
used  in  building  his  character.  Where  now  is 
the  scaffolding  used  in  building  the  Parthe- 
non? Gone  and  forgotten,  twenty- three  cen- 
turies ago.  But  there  stands  that  marble 
temple  on  the  summit  of  the  Acropolis,  a 
thing  of  beauty,  as  wonderful  as  when  it  came 
from  the  brain  of  Ictinus.  Where  is  the  scaf- 
folding used  in  piling  the  Pyramids?  Gone, 
forty  centuries  ago.  But  there  tower  the 
Pyramids  over  the  sands  of  Egypt,  as  grim 
and  grand  as  when  they  received  the  first 
royal  mummy.  The  scaffolding  is  nothing. 
So  the  creatures  and  things  that  assailed  and 
maltreated  John  Wesley  are  nothing.  They 
are  gone,  forgotten.  They  only  give  us  per- 
spective. Where  now  is  the  guard  that  gam- 
bled at  the  foot  of  the  cross?  Gone.  No  his- 
torian has  rescued  a  single  name  or  uncovered 
a  single  footprint  of  their  journey  back  to 
Gaul.  The  priests  and  their  order,  the  mili- 
tary officers  and  the  great  Empire  back  of 
them  all  gone,  faded  from  the  memories  of 
men,  except  as  they  lie  like  stained  and  de- 
caying tatters  about  the  site  of  that  Cross. 
But  the  victim  on  that  Cross  rises  into  the  love 

140 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

and  admiration  of  men  everywhere  and  for- 
ever. So  the  mobs  in  Cornwall  and  the 
clergymen  at  Epworth  and  elsewhere  that  as- 
saulted John  Wesley  have  vanished,  remem- 
bered only  in  their  offenses.  But  this  apostle 
of  righteousness  has  seized  that  eighteenth 
century,  leaving  fragments  of  it  for  others, 
and  now  men  are  studying  the  fact  that  the 
world  is  being  Wesleyanized. 

There  are  three  great  figures  in  history 
with  whom  Wesley  may  be  compared  in  the 
structure  of  his  mind  and  the  sweep  of  his 
work.  They  are,  taking  the  one  nearest  to  us 
in  time,  first,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  man  of 
destiny.  Napoleon  w^as  a  colossal  figure  sent 
into  the  world  on  an  errand.  Warrior,  states- 
man, organizer,  he  reconstructed  the  map  of 
Europe  as  if  it  were  painted  on  his  private 
blocks,  for  his  personal  amusement.  Hostile 
armies  melted  in  his  breath  like  the  host  of 
Sennacherib  before  the  Angel  of  Death. 
Thrones  toppled  at  his  touch,  and  kings 
trailed  in  the  train  of  his  triumph.  Himself  a 
despot,  he  crushed  depotism,  and  gave  to 
Europe  constitutional  government.  But  in- 
spired only  by  selfish  ambition,  the  star  of  his 
empire  sank  in  a  sea  of  blood,  and  he  lived  to 
see  the  utter  failure  of  all  his  personal  plans. 

141 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Wesley  had  his  generalship  and  statesman- 
ship, and  had  he  been  armed  with  a  sword  in- 
stead of  the  New  Testament  he  could  have 
built  a  temporal  empire  instead  of  a  spiritual 
kingdom. 

Second, — Ignatius  Loyola,  the  wounded 
soldier  of  Pampeluna,  the  founder  of  the  Or- 
der of  Jesus,  the  Society  of  the  Jesuits.  This 
man,  commencing  with  only  the  elements  of 
knowledge,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  rose  to 
the  control  of  the  educational  forces  of  the 
Roman  Church.  The  Society  he  created  and 
inspired,  known  as  the  Jesuits,  is  entrusted  by 
Rome  with  the  task  of  producing  her  best 
tools  for  her  most  critical  work.  They  give 
discipline  to  the  Roman  Catholic  institutions 
of  learning  and  they  swarm  in  the  courts  of 
kings  and  in  the  lobbies  of  the  republics.  The 
spirit  of  their  founder  seldom  fails  them. 
Starting  two  centuries  later,  John  Wesley,  the 
student  of  Oxford,  is  pursuing  this  worldly 
force  with  a  spiritual  force  scarcely  less  or- 
ganized and  quite  as  well  fitted  to  the  spirit 
and  requirements  of  the  age.  In  heroism,  in 
self-sacrifice,  in  discipline,  in  high  qualities 
for  commanding,  in  abilities  for  wide  organi- 
zation, in  creative  resources  for  emergencies, 
Wesley  can  well  confront  Loyola  in  the  arena 

142 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

of  the  world  before  the  eyes  of  these  and  com- 
ing centuries.  These  are  the  chiefs  of  Arme- 
geddon,  whose  forces  shall  settle  the  battle 
of  the  Apocalypse. 

Third, — Another  stalwart  figure  towers 
yonder  in  New  Testament  times,  that  tent- 
maker  of  Tarsus,  no  mean  city.  This  brown- 
haired,  hook-nosed  Jew,  Saul,  was  especially 
trained  for  a  great  work.  On  the  wharves  of 
Cydnus  he  encountered  the  traders  of  many 
lands.  At  home,  in  a  Hebrew  family  of  the 
dispersion,  he  talked  with  his  father  in  the 
language  of  Abraham  and  Moses;  at  school 
he  rolled  the  rich  language  of  Homer  and 
Demosthenes.  In  the  streets  of  Tarsus  he  saw 
the  insignia  of  Roman  power.  These  three 
great  languages,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin, 
united  to  make  Paul  the  defender  of  Jesus, 
on  whose  Cross  they  would  be  again  united. 
Languages  were  his  alphabets.  Civilizations 
were  his  text-books.  Cities  were  his  tutors. 
Races  were  his  companions.  Continents  were 
his  opportunities.  The  God  of  Abraham  was 
his  power.  The  Cross  of  Jesus  was  his  in- 
spiration. This  man  Paul,  divinely  com- 
missioned, widened  Judaism  from  being  the 
religious  cult  of  a  subjugated  province  into 
the   religion   for  all   races   and  for  all   ages. 

143 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Wesley  may  properly  be  mentioned  with 
Paul,  in  heroism,  in  consecration,  in  wide  itin- 
erating, in  scholarship,  in  authorship,  and  in 
holy  zeal. 

Wesley  surpassed  Napoleon  in  general- 
ship, for  he  never  found  his  Waterloo  or  his 
St.  Helena.  He  surpassed  Loyola  in  organiz- 
ing power,  for  he  never  needed  the  backing  of 
the  State  or  the  army.  He  approaches  St. 
Paul  in  scholarship,  for  he  created  his  insti- 
tutions amid  the  intellectual  activities  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  perpetuated  them 
with  a  challenge  to  all  comers.  These  men, 
taken  in  the  order  of  their  greatness,  Paul, 
Wesley,  Loyola,  Bonaparte,  stand  four  giants, 
holding  up  the  four  corners  of  the  world. 

Wesley  came  of  Puritan  ancestry,  that 
blood  that  gave  England  her  greatest  ruler 
and  her  cleanest  age.  That  was  a  stout  moral 
stock  that  put  conscience  above  everything 
else.  They  were  slaves  of  duty  which  made 
them  God's  freemen.  His  blood  sagged  into 
High  Churchism  in  his  father  and  mother, 
but  back  of  them  wxre  the  men  who  were  not 
afraid  of  stakes  and  fagots. 

A  necessary  call  to  greatness  is  a  divine 
call  to  be  born  of  a  great  mother.  Few  men 
ever  reach  greatness  without  this  divine  call. 

144 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

Julius  Caesar,  the  Gracchi,  Washington,  Bon- 
aparte, Bacon,  Lincoln,  and  McKinley  were 
born  of  queenly  mothers.  Susannah  Wesley 
was  easily  peer  of  any  in  the  noble  group. 
She  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  ladies 
of  her  time.  Adam  Clarke  says  he  never  saw 
her  equal.     Wesley  started  well. 

He  started  in  the  right  place,  a  parsonage. 
It  is  good  soil  that  can  grow  such  stalks  as 
Lord  Nelson  and  Henry  Clay,  Lord  Tenny- 
son and  Thackeray,  Macaulay  and  Froude, 
and  Lowell  and  Goldsmith.  Remember  that 
Spurgeon  and  Beecher,  Jonathan  Edwards 
and  James  Martineau,  also  enrich  the  cradle 
roll  of  the  parsonage.  A  great  host  of  lay- 
men sprang  from  the  same  nest.  One-seventh 
of  our  over  $21,000,000  Twentieth  Century 
Thank-offering  came  from  a  few  babes  in  the 
parsonage.    John  Wesley  had  this  royal  start. 

It  was  in  his  blood  to  command.  His  rela- 
tive, the  Duke  of  Wellington,  carried  no  more 
authority  in  his  soul  than  did  he.  It  is  easy 
to  obey  such  men  as  Caesar  and  Cromwell  and 
Grant.  That  made  the  itinerancy  and  Metho- 
dism possible.  Lord  Macaulay  said  of  Wes- 
ley: ^'He  was  a  man  whose  eloquence  and 
logical  exactness  might  have  rendered  him 
eminent  in  literature;  whose  genius  for  gov- 

10  145 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ernment  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  Richelieu ; 
and  who  devoted  all  his  powers  in  defiance  of 
obloquy  and  derision,  to  what  he  sincerely 
considered  the  highest  good  of  his  species." 

Oxford  was  his  natural  home.  Her  clas- 
sic halls,  her  libraries,  her  traditions,  her 
memories,  her  atmosphere,  fitted  him  as  the 
water  fits  a  fish.  He  rested,  he  sported,  he 
throve,  he  grew  in  it.  I  went  into  his  old 
room  in  Oxford.  There  was  his  old  chair  and 
desk  and  the  walls  and  the  windows,  as  they 
were  in  his  time.  I  almost  felt  his  presence. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  he  must  be  somewhere 
about,  possibly  out  lecturing  in  his  place. 
His  scholarship  was  so  deep  and  rich  that 
he  embodied  the  University.  He  must  be 
campaigning  somewhere,  I  thought,  if  he 
does  not  come  home  here  to  the  University. 

In  his  day  Latin  and  Greek  were  mas- 
tered. Students  handled  them  like  English. 
Hebrew  was  a  part  of  his  work.  Modern 
languages  easily  yielded  their  treasures  to 
him.  He  knew  the  mathematics  and  logic 
and  philosophy  of  the  University.  Science 
was  pursued  by  him  to  the  limit  of  the  Uni- 
versity's ability  to  furnish.  He  specialized 
in  electricity.  He  was  at  home  in  the  whole 
range  of  literature,  reading  the  classics,  pro- 

146 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

fane  and  sacred  and  ecclesiastical,  in  their 
original  tongues.  History,  biography,  and 
poetry  were  attractive  to  him.  He  prepared  a 
Christian  library  of  fifty  volumes,  selecting 
w^ith  great  care  the  best  parts  of  the  best 
authors.  He  w^as  voluminous  in  his  author- 
ship. He  prepared  and  published  grammars 
in  five  languages,  also  four  volumes  of 
Church  history  and  an  English  dictionary. 
He  wrote  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
works,  and  edited  one  hundred  more. 

His  vast  stores  of  knowledge  were  avail- 
able for  discussions,  exhortations,  and  ser- 
mons. His  sermons  are  of  high  order,  solid, 
compact,  orderly,  Scriptural,  luminous.  His 
journal  is  pronounced  among  the  best  ever 
published.  He  stands  in  the  first  rank  as  a 
scholar  and  writer.  He  was  the  first  actual 
University  extension  the  world  ever  saw.  He 
gave  the  results  of  his  studying  and  wide 
reading  to  the  common  people  with  a  most 
prodigal  hand.  He  inspired  a  desire  for 
knowledge  throughout  all  his  societies.  As 
a  scholar,  as  an  author,  as  a  preacher  and  in- 
spirer  of  men,  he  must  forever  hold  a  high 
rank.  Methodism  must  forever  be  grateful 
for  his  work  and  his  scholarship,  and  for  the 
work  and  scholarship  of  Adam  Clarke,  for 

147 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  reception  of  whose  most  charmed  work 
Wesley  prepared  the  way.  Theodore  Parker 
said:  "Methodism  has  produced  the  greatest 
scholar  and  the  greatest  organizer  of  the  last 
thousand  years."  We  have  a  divine  right  to 
be  proud  of  Wesley.  I  have  heard  of  some 
Methodist  fledglings  in  our  pulpits  who  feign 
contempt  for  Wesley  and  Clarke.  I  venture 
they  never  heard  of  many  of  the  old  manu- 
scripts which  Clarke  studied  and  compared 
letter  by  letter  from  end  to  end  in  his  patient 
work.  When  I  hear  them  lisping  and  see 
them  drooling,  I  would  like  to  send  them 
back  to  Susannah  Wesley  for  training.  She 
would  teach  them  better  manners  and  more 
wisdom,  or  exhaust  them  in  the  attempt. 

Wesley^s  great  work  was  the  liberation  of 
spiritual  forces  among  men.  His  massive, 
intellectual  powers,  his  acumen,  his  logic,  his 
scholarship,  his  wide  knowledge,  all  these 
were  only  by-products.  The  purpose  for 
which  his  plant  was  put  up  and  run  was  the 
production  of  spiritual  results  in  the  trans- 
formation of  individuals  and  in  the  purifica- 
tion and  elevation  of  society.  Methodism 
was  born  in  Aldersgate  Street,  London,  May 
24,  1738,  when  its  founder  ^^felt  his  heart 
strangely  warmed,  felt  that  he  did  trust  in 

148 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

Christ  alone  for  salvation,"  and  had  "an  as- 
surance given  him  that  Christ  had  taken  away 
his  sin  and  saved  him  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death."  He  then  knew  that  something  had 
happened. 

In  January,  1885,  I  was  walking  through 
Aldersgate  Street,  London,  with  an  old  lay- 
man, George  John  Stevenson.  He  was  my 
London  correspondent  when  I  edited  the 
New  York  Advocate.  He  was  Adam  Clarke's 
literary  executor.  He  knew  more  about  early 
Methodist  localities  than  any  other  man  then 
living.  He  stopped  and  said:  "When  I  was 
a  boy  there  was  a  house  where  this  cross  street 
is  now;  when  the  street  was  cut  through,  the 
house  was  taken  dow^n.  In  the  upper  room  of 
that  house  was  held  the  meeting  in  which 
John  Wesley  was  converted.  That  is  where 
he  felt  his  'heart  strangely  warmed;'  'that  was 
the  birthplace  of  Methodism.'  "  I  took  off 
my  hat. 

Before  this  Wesley  had  been  very  High 
Church,  and  an  extreme  stickler  for  the  order 
of  the  Church.  On  March  31,  1738,  in  Bris- 
tol, a  little  time  before  his  conversion,  Mr. 
Whitefield  showed  him  how  to  preach  in  the 
fields.  He  says:  "I  could  hardly  reconcile 
myself  to  this  strange  way  of  preaching,  hav- 

149 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

ing  been  all  my  life,  till  very  lately,  so  stren- 
uous of  every  point  relating  to  decency  and 
order,  that  I  should  have  thought  the  saving 
of  souls  almost  a  sin  if  it  had  not  been  done 
in  a  Church."  In  a  most  earnest  way  he  was 
seeking  God  through  all  the  services  of  the 
Church,  but  all  the  time  failing  to  find  peace 
and  comfort.  He  said  after  his  return  from 
America:  ^'One  thing  have  I  learned  in  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  that  I,  who  went  to  Amer- 
ica to  convert  the  Indians,  was  never  con- 
verted myself."  Later  he  described  his  way 
of  living  in  those  struggling  days  as  ''a  refined 
way  of  trusting  to  his  own  works  and  his  own 
righteousness;"  that  he  ^'dragged  on  heavily, 
finding  no  help  or  comfort  therein."  He 
learned  on  the  sea  that  the  Moravians  had 
some  religious  experience  that  ''removed  the 
fear  of  death."  By  the  help  of  Peter  Bohler 
he  was  led  to  the  truth  and  held  that  "when 
we  renounce  everything  but  faith  and  get  into 
Christ,  then,  and  not  till  then,  have  we  any 
reason  to  believe  that  we  are  Christians." 
Thus  he  struggled  and  prayed  and  fasted  and 
clung  to  the  Church  ordinances  and  sacra- 
ments, till  at  last  he  let  go  of  everything  else 
and  rested  down  upon  Jesus  Christ  by  faith 
only.      Then    he    ''felt    his    heart    strangely 

150 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

warmed''  and  knew  by  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  his  spirit  that  his  sins  were  for- 
given and  that  he  was  accepted  of  God.  This 
is  what  the  early  Methodist  called  the  ''germ 
cell"  of  Methodism.  The  Church  was  quick- 
ened into  conscious  life,  spiritual  life.  It  is 
the  common  experience  of  converted  people 
that  they  feel  that  they  are  sinners.  That  they 
feel  that  their  sins  are  forgiven.  It  is  a  life 
of  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  ma- 
tures into  life  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  was  proof  to  the  individual 
deeper  than  his  logic,  deeper  than  his  reason- 
ing, bubbling  up  out  of  the  very  depths  of  his 
consciousness,  saying  itself  within  him, 
''Abba,  Father."  This  is  the  way  they  know 
that  something  has  happened. 

This  enables  us  to  understand  the  state- 
ment that  the  Word  is  spirit  and  spiritually 
discerned.  The  exercise  of  saving  faith  is  in 
the  spiritual  and  voluntary  nature.  This  fur- 
nishes the  foundation  for  that  Scriptural  doc- 
trine taught  in  the  New  Testament  and  taught 
and  experienced  by  Methodists  and  known  as 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  that  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  believer  tes- 
tifying to  the  state  of  salvation  and  bringing 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.     Thus  the 

151 


Addresses  on  notable  occasions 

believer  knows  that  something  has  happened. 
This  is  the  purpose  for  which  Methodism 
was  called  into  being.  Philosophical  and  the- 
ological teaching  had  so  deadened  the  power 
of  the  gospel  that  it  had  no  fair  opportunity 
to  manifest  its  power.  The  world  was  sub- 
merged in  doubt.  Christianity  was  dismissed 
as  a  worn-out  cult. 

Methodism  is  a  new  life,  and  so  is  an  ex- 
perience. It  has  God's  testimony  that  some- 
thing has  happened.  It  is  love  and  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  preacher  ap- 
proaching his  new  appointment,  asked  a  boy: 
^'Do  people  at  Millbrook  enjoy  religion?" 
The  boy  struck  the  central  power  of  Metho- 
dism when  he  said:  "Them  that  has  it  does." 

John  Wesley  was  driven  from  the  com- 
munion table  and  shut  out  of  the  churches  as 
a  fanatic  being  consumed  by  zeal,  because  he 
preached  this  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith 
only  and  the  witness  of  the  Floly  Spirit;  he 
proclaimed  a  knowable  religion.  It  was 
sometimes  necessary  to  check  zeal  without 
knowledge.  But  that  peril  has  long  since 
passed.  In  this  age,  when  nearly  every  street 
might  be  carpeted  with  newspapers,  this  age 
of  magazines  and  high  schools  and  colleges 
and    universities    and    lectures,    our   peril    is 

152 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

from  the  opposite  direction.  We  are  in  no 
danger  of  too  much  emotion  in  religion. 
When  the  president  of  a  university  not  distin- 
guished for  religious  emotions,  admonishes 
Methodism  about  too  much  emotion,  I  am 
persuaded  of  his  kindly  intent,  but  that  he 
misses  our  present  perils.  And  when  any  one 
is  reported  as  saying  that  ''the  statement  that 
we  must  have  an  experience  in  order  to  be 
Christians  is  a  religious  falsis7n/'  I  am  com- 
pelled to  think  that  he  is  misrepresented.  At 
all  events  an  effort  to  protect  our  Methodism 
from  too  much  emotion  is  a  work  of  superero- 
gation. It  is  no  wiser  than  the  man  who  spent 
his  fortune  in  making  a  steel  umbrella  to  pro- 
tect his  head  from  falling  meteors.  It  is  con- 
ceivable that  a  man  might  be  killed  by  a  fall- 
ing meteor,  but  our  heads  are  in  greater 
danger  from  other  causes.  It  would  be  quite 
as  wise  to  build  coffer-dams  in  the  midst  of 
the  Sahara  desert  to  keep  back  the  sea.  As  a 
Church,  our  peril  is  greater  from  the  loss  of 
the  strange  warming  of  the  heart. 

In  my  early  ministry  I  constructed  a  doc- 
trine which  I  called  the  geology  of  character. 
By  it  I  meant  that  a  man  might  by  faithful- 
ness and  obedience  and  prayerfulness  so  round 
up  his  character  that  by  and  by  he  would 

153 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

come  into  a  religious  life  and  that  God  would 
save  him.  I  did  not  preach  my  doctrine  of 
geology  of  character,  because  I  could  not  sup- 
port it  by  the  Scriptures,  and  I  was  not  com- 
missioned to  preach  my  own  speculations,  but 
the  Good  News.  One  day  a  man  came  into 
my  home  and  asked  me  to  come  and  hold  a 
funeral  service  over  his  little  girl.  I  said  I 
would  go.  As  he  went  out  he  said  to  me: 
^^Do  n't  waste  any  words  on  me.  I  have  out- 
grown my  superstitions.  My  wife  has  not. 
She  was  a  Wesleyan  in  Canada  and  has  not 
outgrown  it.  It  is  on  her  account  I  want  the 
service."  I  went  and  said  what  I  thought  I 
ought  to.  About  three  weeks  after  that  the 
cholera  plague  struck  our  city.  Several  hun- 
dred died  each  day.  Nearly  every  person  that 
took  the  plague  died.  Early  in  the  time  of 
the  trouble  a  little  girl  came  into  my  home 
and  said:  ''My  papa  has  got  the  cholera  and 
three  doctors  have  given  him  up,  and  he  wants 
you  to  see  him.  Will  you  come?"  I  was  in 
a  tight  corner.  I  instantly  thought  my  ge- 
ology of  character  can  not  reach  him.  I  was 
also  afraid  of  the  cholera.  But  I  thought  that 
any  minister  that  would  not  go  to  such  a  call 
ought  to  take  the  cholera  and  die.  I  asked, 
"Who   is  your  papa?"     She   said:   ''O,  you 

154 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

know  my  papa.  You  buried  my  little  sister 
three  weeks  ago,"  at  such  a  number,  a  little 
over  a  block  away.  I  said: ''I  will  go."  The 
cold  perspiration  started  over  me.  As  I  went 
I  prayed  for  help.  It  came  to  me  in  this 
Scripture,  ^'Preach  My  gospel."  I  said: 
^'That  is  it.  I  will  give  him  only  the  word 
of  God  and  leave  the  responsibility  with 
God."  As  I  went  into  the  house  the  woman 
fell  down  and  caught  me  about  my  feet,  say- 
ing: "O,  sir,  you  must  save  him."  I  said,  as 
I  lifted  her  up :  ''I  can  not  save  him."  As  I 
went  up  by  the  side  of  the  bed,  the  man  sprang 
up  and  threw  the  stump  of  his  arm  about  my 
neck  and  said:  '^O,  sir,  what  shall  I  do?  It 
is  so  dark  and  everything  whirls  so.  I  can't 
die  this  way."  I  laid  him  back  on  the  bed  and 
said:  ^'Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  He  sprang  up  and 
shook  his  hand  and  the  stump  of  his  arm  at 
me  and  said:  "Do  n't  you  tell  me  that.  Here 
I  am  fifty  years  old,  crystallized  in  sin,  and 
have  only  an  hour  or  two  to  live.  You  can't 
make  me  over  in  an  hour."  There  was  my 
geology  of  character,  face  to  face  with  me. 
I  waited.  Another  spasm  took  him  and  he 
cried  out  again:  ''What  shall  I  do?     I  can't 


155 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

die  this  way."  I  said:  ''Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Again 
he  said:  "Don't  you  tell  me  that;"  and  I 
waited.  We  teetered  over  that  single  passage 
for  nearly  two  hours.  I  gave  him  nothing 
else.  At  last,  fearing  he  would  go  soon,  I 
said:  "Believe,  and  do  n't  you  dare  to  tell  me 
no.  You  will  be  dead  in  an  hour.  All  the 
people  that  have  gone  up  to  God  have  gone 
by  this  way  of  faith."  Then  he  began  to  moan 
and  pray:  "Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  upon  me." 
Soon  he  was  praying  with  all  his  might. 
Then  I  repeated  the  promises  to  him.  I  re- 
peated that  wonderful  promise,  "Him  that 
Cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
He  said:  "Say  that  again,  say  that  again."  I 
repeated  it.  He  said:  "I  believe  it,  I  believe 
it.  Glory  to  God,  I  can  die  now.  I  am  not 
afraid  to  die  now.  Hallelujah,  I  can  die 
now!"  He  begged  his  wife's  pardon  for  hav- 
ing been  so  mean  to  her.  He  talked  about  his 
business,  often  breaking  out,  "I  can  die  now." 
He  knew  that  something  had  happened.  I 
left  him.  Toward  morning  I  returned.  He 
was  gone.  He  went,  shouting,  "Glory  to  God, 
I  can  die  now."  He  was  saved  by  faith,  just 
as  that  thief  on  the  cross  was  saved,  just  as 
every  man  who  is  saved   is  saved  by  faith. 

156 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

Two  people  were  cured  of  the  geology  of 
character  that  night. 

God  made  us,  and  He  can  remake  us  in 
a  second,  when  we  believe.  We  do  not  do  the 
work.  God  does  it,  and  He  can  save  at  the 
last  moment.  That  is  the  power  of  the  gospel. 
That  is  the  power  of  Methodism.  It  has  a 
real  gospel,  real  Good  News,  that  God  can 
save  to  the  uttermost,  and  even  at  the  last,  if 
only  we  believe.  If  I  did  not  believe  that 
that  poor  creature  dying  yonder  in  the  alley, 
scuttled  in  every  virtue,  unloved  and  un- 
mothered,  slipping  from  the  crumbling  verge 
of  time  into  the  vortex  of  perdition,  if  only 
she  would  send  one  believing  cry  to  Jesus, 
could  be  saved,  I  would  never  dare  to  preach 
again.  He  saves  by  faith.  He  does  it.  I 
would  to  God  that  w^e  might  as  a  Church  to 
the  last  member  take  hold  of  His  Almighty 
and  merciful  hand  and  appropriate  by  only 
simple  faith  all  that  we  need,  and  hold 
onto  Him  by  faith  till  He  sends  His  witness- 
ing Spirit,  giving  us  love,  peace,  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost.     This  is  Methodism. 

This  great  truth  is  Wesleyanizing  the 
world.  I  bless  God  for  that  fact.  I  have 
large  charity,  large  love,  for  all  the  Churches 
that  hold  to  the  Bible.     I  could  work  in  any 

157 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

of  them  and  be  happy  if  I  could  preach  and 
enjoy  these  great  Methodist  New  Testament 
truths.  Their  prayer  and  testimony  meetings 
are  as  clear  and  definite  as  our  own.  You 
could  hardly  tell  by  the  experiences  that  they 
are  not  Methodist  meetings.  But  it  was  not 
always  so.  Young  as  I  am,  I  have  heard  a 
preacher  in  an  orthodox  pulpit  denounce  ''the 
damnable  doctrine  that  a  man  might  know  his 
sins  forgiven."  In  the  high  days  of  hard 
Calvinism  men  under  the  reign  of  the  secret 
decree  could  not  know  whether  they  were  of 
the  elect  or  not.  The  decree  was  secret.  The 
witness  of  the  Spirit  to  adoption  put  an  end  to 
the  secret  decree  and  to  all  the  other  decrees. 
The  Established  Church  in  England  was 
no  gentler  on  this  matter.  As  soon  as  Wesley 
experienced  and  preached  this  doctrine  he 
was  thrust  out  of  the  churches  and  from  the 
communion  table,  and  was  mobbed  in  the 
streets  and  in  the  fields  at  the  instigation  of 
Churchmen,  ministers  and  laymen,  as  a  fa- 
natic. That  was  the  state  of  Christian 
Churches  and  of  the  world  when  God  spoke 
the  Methodist  Church  into  being.  We  were 
sent  out  on  a  special  errand.  We  were  called 
up  into  being,  to  preach  a  knowable  religion. 
Our  fathers  heard  the  Divine  call  and  saw 

158 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

God's  beckoning  hand,  and  were  obedient  to 
the  heavenly  vision.  Men  heard  their  testi- 
mony. They  wanted  their  experience.  They 
wanted  to  know  a  God  that  could  be  found. 
They  came  in  throngs.  The  truths  reached 
the  multitudes.  Earnest  souls  of  all  classes 
found  peace  in  believing.  The  old  Churches, 
some  of  which  had  not  had  a  revival  or  a  con- 
version for  a  whole  generation,  caught  the  re- 
vival spirit  and  experience.  The  long  silent 
heart  began  to  beat.  New  life  currents 
coursed  through  the  veins.  The  dormant 
bodies  roused  to  activity,  and  songs  of  life 
were  heard  on  every  side. 

Multitudes  born  at  Methodist  altars  went 
into  the  Churches  where  their  parents  wor- 
shipped. While  Methodism  would  have 
been  glad  to  house  them,  yet  she  rejoiced  to 
see  them  carry  their  new  life  and  testimony 
with  them  into  their  old  Churches.  If  all 
our  converts  had  stayed  with  us  we  would 
have  more  than  doubled  our  membership, 
but  other  Churches  would  not  have  awak- 
ened. The  glad  life  of  Methodism,  incar- 
nated in  John  Wesley,  May  24,  1738,  when 
he  felt  his  heart  strangely  warmed,  flowed 
over  the  brim  of  Methodism,  ran  into  and 
through  the  other  Churches,  making  glad  the 

159 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

City  of  our  God.  It  took  a  century  to  warm 
the  old  altars  and  hearts,  but  I  thank  God  that 
they  are  being  strangely  warmed.  Our  con- 
verts have  not  been  lost.  They  have  been 
scattered  into  good  soil  as  ''germ  cells."  Sal- 
vation by  faith  only,  and  the  w^itness  of  the 
Spirit  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  adopted, 
wherever  preached  and  experienced,  is  Meth- 
odism, no  matter  what  name  it  bears. 

The  Established  Church  which  drove 
John  Wesley  from  her  altars  and  pulpits  has 
felt  the  power  of  his  distinctive  doctrines. 
Blackstone  said  that  he  had  heard  the  ablest 
preachers  of  the  Church  and  you  could  not 
tell  by  their  sermons  whether  they  were  Pa- 
gan or  Mohammedan  or  Christian.  I  need 
not  uncap  that  abyss.  It  is  enough  to  say  with 
the  great  secular  historian  that  much  of  the 
good  wrought  by  Wesley  and  his  followers 
was  found  in  their  quickening  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  It  is  now  enough  to  say  that 
not  a  small  percentage  of  the  evangelical 
preaching  in  England  and  in  the  world  is 
now  heard  in  non-Methodist  pulpits.  The 
world  is  being  Wesleyanized. 

A  Christian  lady,  a  little  while  ago, 
brought  her  two  sons,  young  men  in  their 
teens,  to  one  of  our  Churches  where  a  blessed 

160 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

revival  was  in  progress,  and  said  to  our  pas- 
tor, whom  I  know:  "  I  have  brought  my  sons 
to  your  services.  They  are  to  be  confirmed  in 
a  few  weeks,  and  I  want  them  converted  be- 
fore they  are  confirmed." 

A  hundred  years  ago,  before  the  Churches 
had  been  Wesleyanized,  there  were  but  about 
a  dozen  missionary  societies.  The  lifeless 
forms  of  Christianity  were  hardly  able  to 
propagate  themselves.  But  now,  since  these 
great  bodies  have  felt  the  new  life,  these  mis- 
sionary societies  are  numbered  by  the  hun- 
dred. This  revived  and  revival  doctrine  is 
running  throughout  all  the  great  masses  of 
Heathenism.  Here  and  there  over  all  the 
pagan  continents  you  can  see  the  flames  of  the 
new  life  burning  on  Christian  altars,  and  hear 
the  glad  songs  of  hearts  strangely  warmed  by 
the  love  of  God  consciously  shed  abroad  in 
the  soul.  Thus,  in  this  wider  range  and 
mightier  sweep,  the  world  is  being  Wesley- 
anized. 

We  are  only  on  the  crest  of  the  mountains 
where  the  endless  plains  stretch  away  into  an 
ever-widening  future.  This  power  of  a  new 
life  spread  so  widely  that  it  reached  the  great 
masses  of  the  English  nation,  giving  the  peo- 
ple a  new  moral  sense,  an  exalted  sense  of 

II  161 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

honor,  and  a  resistless  patriotism.  It  rose  so 
high  that  it  bore  English  statesmanship  up  to 
levels  it  had  never  approached  before. 

Lecky,  the  philosophical  historian  of 
much  weight  and  authority,  says: 

"Although  the  career  of  the  elder  Pitt, 
and  the  splendid  victories  by  land  and  sea  that 
were  won  during  his  ministry,  form  unques- 
tionably the  most  dazzling  episodes  in  the 
reign  of  George  II,  they  must  yield,  I  think, 
in  real  importance,  to  that  religious  revolu- 
tion which  shortly  before  had  been  begun  in 
England  by  the  preaching  of  the  Wesleys  and 
of  Whitefield.  The  creation  of  a  large, 
powerful  and  active  set,  extending  over  both 
hemispheres  and  numbering  many  millions  of 
souls,  was  but  one  of  its  consequences.  It  also 
exercised  a  profound  and  lasting  influence 
upon  the  spirit  of  the  Established  Church, 
upon  the  amount  and  distribution  of  the 
moral  forces  of  the  nation,  and  even  upon  the 
course  of  its  political  history." 

This  swelling  tide  has  necessarily  reached 
our  country  and  has  become  identified  with 
our  free  institutions. 

Touched  in  this  last  century  and  a  half 
with  the  spirit  of  personal  kinship  and  fellow- 
ship with  God,  these  English-speaking  peo- 

162 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

pies  have  risen  to  the  highest  civilization 
known  among  men,  and  marching  with  the 
swing  of  conquest  they  walk  over  the  earth 
as  if  they  owned  it.  Like  chivalrous  knights 
of  high  heaven,  they  feel  called  upon  to  right 
the  great  wrongs,  to  defend  the  helpless,  lift 
up  the  poor,  and  establish  prosperous  peace, 
or  know  the  reason  why. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  integrity,  which  is 
stronger  than  Anglo-Saxon  greed  of  land,  and 
the  Anglo-Saxon  moral  sense,  which  is  deeper 
than  Anglo-Saxon  passion  for  power,  is  the 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire 
by  night,  in  which  the  God  of  Providence 
dwells,  that  is  guiding  the  fugitives  from  all 
despotisms  to  the  promised  land. 

Brothers,  I  see  more  in  this  federation  of 
English-speaking  peoples  than  the  strutting 
of  our  proud  police  of  the  seas  and  the  bark- 
ing of  our  war-dogs.  I  see,  rather,  the  better 
chance  for  perpetual  peace  and  the  growth 
of  the  gentler  virtues.    I  hate  war. 

The  time  is  coming  when  these  two  flags, 
floating  together,  will  make  it  impossible  for 
a  gun  to  throw  a  bullet  beyond  its  muzzle  or 
for  a  soldier  to  lift  his  foot  unless  the  order 
is  given  in  the  English  tongue. 

Brothers,  I  am  not  outside  the  facts  of  his- 
163 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

tory  when  I  say  that  the  spirit  which  God 
poured  into  the  world  through  the  lips,  labor, 
and  life  of  John  Wesley  has  quickened  this 
Anglo-Saxon  people  into  power.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  stock  is  the  engine,  and  Methodism  is 
the  man  in  the  cab  with  his  hand  on  the  lever. 
This  is  the  secret  why  these  people  are  so  free, 
fearless,  and  loyal. 

Who  can  measure  our  responsibility? 
Our  only  safety  is  in  close  personal  work  with 
God,  in  walking  with  God  as  our  fathers  did, 
keeping  ourselves  personally  in  such  fellow- 
ship that  we  can  detect  the  least  approach 
of  sin,  and  hear  the  slightest  prompting  of 
the  Spirit,  and  receive  constantly  new  sup- 
plies of  spiritual  powxr.  The  same  heroic 
devotion  that  made  our  fathers  win  in  the 
nineteenth  century  will  make  us  win  in  the 
twentieth.  God  help  us,  that  we  may  have 
not  only  "the  arduous  greatness  of  things 
achieved,"  but  also  the  heroic  greatness  that 
can  do  all  things  through  the  strengthening 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  field  for  Methodism  is  wider  than 
ever  in  the  past.  Its  great  need  is  the  old 
fire,  the  strange  warming  of  the  heart. 

John  Wesley  grew  in  a  godly  family.  He 
went  into   the   Church   by   the  proper  cere- 

164 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

monies.  He  prayed  and  fasted  and  worked 
and  watched.  He  took  the  vows  of  the 
Church  and  devoted  himself  to  her  cere- 
monies and  sacraments.  As  John  Dempster 
went  to  South  America  as  a  missionary  into 
the  perils  of  Roman  Catholic  persecution, 
chiefly  to  be  sure  that  he  was  thoroughly  and 
absolutely  consecrated  to  God,  so  John  Wes- 
ley went  into  the  wilds  among  the  savages  of 
America,  as  a  missionary.  But  none  of  these 
things  gave  him  satisfying  peace  and  comfort. 
He  styles  all  these  things,  a  "refined  way  of 
trusting  to  his  own  works  and  his  own  right- 
eousness," "that  he  dragged  on  heavily,  find- 
ing no  help  or  comfort  therein."  But  he  re- 
nounced all  these  things,  saying,  "When  we 
renounce  everything  but  faith  and  get  into 
Christ,  then,  and  not  till  then,  have  we  any 
reason  to  believe  that  we  are  Christians." 
Under  the  guidance  of  a  Moravian  Christian 
and  led  by  the  Spirit,  he  settled  down  upon 
Christ  only;  then  he  felt  his  heart  strangely 
warmed  and  knew  that  his  sins  were  forgiven. 
Then  he  came  to  his  Kingdom. 

Brothers,  I  will  call  another  great  witness, 
a  man  of  the  same  rugged,  logical,  mental 
structure,  only  greater,  possibly  the  greatest 
of  all  the  sons  of  Adam,  possibly  the  greatest 

165 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

man  the  great  God  ever  made — none  other 
than  Paul,  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 
Hear  his  testimony  concerning  his  labors  and 
sufferings: 

Seeing  that  many  glory  after  the  flesh,  I 
will  glory  also. 

Are  they  Hebrews?  so  am  I.  Are  they 
Israelites?  so  am  I.  Are  they  the  seed  of 
Abraham?  so  am  I. 

Are  they  ministers  of  Christ?  (I  speak 
as  a  fool,)  I  am  more;  in  labors  more  abun- 
dant, in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons 
more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft. 

Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty 
stripes  save  one. 

Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was 
I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night 
and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep ; 

In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters, 
in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own 
countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils 
in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils 
in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren. 

In  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings 
often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often, 
in  cold  and  nakedness. 

Besides  those  things  that  are  without,  that 

166 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all 
the  churches. —  (2  Cor.  xi,  18,  22-28.) 

Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?  shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  per- 
secution, or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril, 
or  sword? 

As  it  is  written.  For  Thy  sake  we  are  killed 
all  the  day  long;  we  are  accounted  as  sheep 
for  the  slaughter. 

Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors,  through  Him  that  loved  us. 

For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death, 
nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come. 

Nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  crea- 
ture, shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord. —  (Romans  viii,  35-39.) 

Hear  his  summation  of  his  claims  to  self- 
righteousness:  "If  any  man  thinketh  that  he 
hath  whereof  he  might  trust  in  the  flesh,  I 
more; 

"Circumcised  the  eighth  day" — all  there 
could  be  in  early  admission  to  the  Church — 
"of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min.'' Royal  blood,  the  blood  of  the  patri- 
archs, Israel's  bluest  blood  flowed  in  his  veins, 

167 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  the  especial  favor  of  Benjamin,  with  his 
double  portion.  "An  Hebrew  of  the  He- 
brews." No  alien  mixtures,  good  blood  on 
both  sides  of  the  house.  "As  touching  the 
law,  a  Pharisee."  Orthodox,  no  materializ- 
ing Sadducee.  "Concerning  zeal,  persecut- 
ing the  Church."  No  limp  and  lazy  liberal, 
but  an  inquisitor  keyed  to  the  highest  and 
hardest  duties.  "Touching  the  righteousness 
which  is  in  the  law,  blameless/'  Nothing 
could  be  higher  than  this;  yet  hear  this  wit- 
ness. It  is  Paul,  the  aged.  The  fires  and  fan- 
cies of  youth  have  long  ago  died  out  of  him. 
He  is  in  the  ripe  maturity  of  his  faculties  and 
powers,  at  the  very  summit  of  his  great  man- 
hood, tested  and  enriched  on  every  side.  He 
has  tested  every  weapon  and  tried  every  tor- 
ture. He  has  confronted  the  mob  in  the  tem- 
ple and  the  inquisitor  in  the  dungeon.  He  has 
stood  against  the  bigotry  of  Jerusalem,  against 
the  philosophy  of  Athens,  against  the  corrup- 
tion of  Corinth,  against  the  rashness  of  Phil- 
ippi,  against  the  idolatry  of  Ephesus,  and 
against  the  persecutions  of  Rome.  He  fled 
from  the  mob  in  Jerusalem  to  the  prison  in 
Caesarea,  from  the  wrath  of  Derbe  to  the 
stoning  in  Lystra,  from  the  vengeance  of  Cor- 
inth to  struggle  with  wild  beasts  in  Ephesus. 

168 


WESLEYANIZING  THE  WORLD 

He  struggled  out  of  the  surf  of  the  i^gean 
to  stand  alone  at  Nero's  bar.  Surely  if  any 
man  ever  had  whereof  to  trust  in  the  flesh, 
this  man  can  well  say  ''I  more."  Yet,  hear 
his  testimony:  "But  what  things  were  gain  to 
me,  those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ.  Yea, 
doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for 
the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus  my  Lord;  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the 
loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung, 
that  I  may  win  Christ.  And  be  found  in  Him, 
not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is 
of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith 
of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God 
by  faith."     (Phil,  iii,  4-9.) 

These  two  greatest  men  in  the  Christian 
Church,  Paul  and  Wesley,  come  back  to  the 
same  sure  foundation,  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Brothers,  this  old  truth,  this  simple  expe- 
rience, by  which  Wesley  felt  his  heart 
strangely  warmed,  will  warm  all  our  hearts. 
It  has  made  the  nineteenth  century  the  great- 
est of  all  centuries,  and  it  will  make  the  twen- 
tieth century  even  infinitely  greater.  For  the 
world  is  being  rapidly  Wesleyanized. 


169 


FIRST  FRATERNAL  ADDRESS  TO 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH,  SOUTH 


This  was  the  first  exchange  of  fraternal  greetings 
between  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  since  the  Church 
South  was  organized  after  the  controversy  of  1844.  The 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  1872  authorized  and  directed  the  Bishops  to  appoint  a 
Commission  of  three  fraternal  delegates  to  visit  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Church  South  which  met  at 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  May,  1874.  The  fraternal  dele- 
gates were  appointed  by  the  Bishops.  They  were  Rev. 
Albert  S.  Hunt,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Charles  H.  Fowler,  D.  D., 
and  Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk. 


FRATERNAL  ADDRESS 

TO    THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH,  SOUTH 

Mr.  President  and  Brethren: 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  am  thankful 
that  in  the  providence  of  God  I  am  permitted 
to  stand  before  you  at  this  hour.  It  seems 
to  me,  that  in  a  clearer  and  sharper  way  than 
ever  before,  I  stand  in  the  presence  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  represented  in  the  dele- 
gates which  you  have  received  and  in  the 
great  body  which  is  before  me  to-day. 

Business,  like  breathing,  cares  for  itself. 
Friendships  have  to  be  protected  and  fostered. 
The  legislation  of  this  great  body  may,  like 
the  mills  of  the  gods,  seem  to  grind  slowly, 
but  it  must  grind  right  on.  The  imperative 
command  of  the  host  behind  you  is,  "For- 
ward." The  hard  thing  is  to  tarry  a  season 
and  give  voice  and  opportunity  to  our  more 
genial  and  more  distinctly  religious  experi- 
ences. It  would  not  be  lost  time  for  Baron 
Rothschild  to  pause  long  enough,  in  the  midst 
of  his  calculations,  to  find  the  pearl  of  great 

173 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

price.  It  is  not  altogether  lost  time  for  us  to 
pause,  in  the  hurrying  tides  of  life,  long 
enough  to  exchange  greetings  and  benedic- 
tions ;  and  I  comfort  myself,  in  accepting  the 
honor  of  your  attention,  that  it  is  no  incon- 
siderate part  of  a  delegate's  duty  to  endure 
the  speeches  of  his  brethren. 

You  take  Vanderbilt's  check  in  your  hand. 
It  is  not  very  heavy  nor  very  large,  but  it  is 
worth  something.  There  are  a  stout  old  com- 
modore and  fifteen  hundred  miles  of  railroad 
back  of  it,  and  a  great  university  in  it.  The 
speeches  we  make  this  day  may  not  be  very 
great  or  very  weighty,  but  I  hope  they  are 
worth  something.  There  are  a  Church  and 
fifteen  hundred  thousand  believers  back  of 
them,  and  peace  and  good-will  in  them.  In 
receiving  us,  you  receive  not  us  but  them  that 
sent  us.  A  people  holding  the  seal  of  the 
Highest,  standing  to-day  in  their  doors  and 
looking  this  way,  will  say.  Inasmuch  as  you 
have  received  the  least  of  these  our  little  ones, 
you  have  received  us. 

I  am  glad  that  I  am  permitted  to  present 
to  you  the  fraternal  regard  of  this  multitude. 
There  are  many  reasons  why  we  should  find 
this  flow  of  friendly  feeling  full  of  faith  and 
truth. 

174 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.. CHURCH,   SOUTH 

There  are  three  essential  elements  in 
Church  life;  namely,  The  creed,  the  form  of 
government,  and  the  usages.  Let  us  look  over 
our  patrimony  and  see  how  many  of  these  are 
common  to  us  as  substantial  reasons  for  fra- 
ternal relations. 

In  creed  we  are  one.  I  know  these  are 
days  in  which  it  is  popular  to  say:  "Creeds  are 
nothing.  Men  have  outgrown  creeds.  Reli- 
gion is  a  life,  not  some  marks  on  an  old  black- 
letter  parchment,  which  few  living  men  can 
read  and  fewer  care  to  preserve."  But  I  have 
not  grown  to  such  liberty  and  looseness.  I 
believe  in  a  creed  just  as  much  as  I  believe  in 
a  skeleton.  A  Church  without  a  creed  would 
be  about  as  helpless  as  a  man  without  a  skele- 
ton. Nothing  but  a  mass  of  jelly,  which  the 
nauseated  swine  might  trample  in  loathing. 
While  I  believe  in  skeletons  with  good  spinal 
columns,  like  that  of  Andrew  Jackson,  yet  I 
can  not  say  that  I  care  to  meet  naked  skeletons 
on  the  street  or  be  embraced  by  them  in  the 
house.  I  prefer  them  well  covered  and  cush- 
ioned, padded  out  into  rounded  manhood;  so 
I  want  a  creed  covered  with  the  muscle,  and 
fiber,  and  cuticle,  and  beauty  of  a  holy,  be- 
nignant, loving,  working,  Christian  life.  A 
Church  must  have  the  elasticity  of  youth  in 

175 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

her  step,  the  fullness  of  maturity  in  her  form, 
the  grace  of  liberty  in  her  motion,  the  blush 
of  the  morning  on  her  cheek,  the  light  of 
eternity  in  her  eye,  and  the  glory  of  heaven  on 
her  head.  She  must  be  like  the  bow  of  the 
archer,  an  embodiment  of  beauty  and  strength. 
She  must  be  central  about  some  great  domi- 
nating conviction.  This  means  a  creed.  To 
my  thinking  it  is  no  small  bond  between  two 
societies  when  they  have  the  same  creed. 

We  are  distinguished  by  a  conviction  of 
the  universality  of  the  atonement.  Metho- 
dists, and  hardly  any  other  people,  can  stand 
in  the  world's  hospital  and  cry  into  every  ear, 
"There  is  none  so  sick  that  they  must  die." 
We  can  ofifer  hope  to  the  most  wayward,  to 
the  poor  victim  nearest  perdition.  If  I  be- 
lieved that  there  was  anywhere  a  soul  on  the 
soil  of  probation  to  whom  I  could  not  say, 
Christ  died  for  you  and  you  may  live — He 
that  is  for  you  is  more  than  all  they  that  can 
be  against  you — I  would  never  open  my 
mouth  again  in  the  pulpit.  But  this  great 
central  truth  we  have  in  common:  ''By  the 
grace  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  tasted  death  for 
every  man." 

Not  only  do  we  hold  this,  but,  coming 
over  to  the  human  side  of  the  problem  of  des- 

176 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

tiny,  we  are  liberated  into  fellowship  by  our 
conviction  of  man's  freedom.  We  see  him  a 
monarch.  In  our  view  of  man's  will  we  arc 
separated  from  nearly  all  others  and  wedded 
to  each  other.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  some 
due  conception  of  what  it  seems  to  me  to 
be  a  man,  a  moral  agent.  This  kingdom 
of  freedom  is  separated  from  every  other 
view  of  man  by  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  moral  government  of  this  universe, 
by  all  the  altitude  of  the  great  white 
throne.  Intrenched  behind,  cased  about  by 
our  freedom,  there  is  absolutely  no  power 
in  the  universe  that  can  crush  or  suborn 
us.  Even  God  can  not  compel  us.  He  may, 
for  all  I  know,  though  I  do  not  believe  it, 
drop  me  out  of  being,  but  He  can  not  suborn 
me.  Every  time  I  sin  I  demonstrate  that  I 
can  stand  out  against  His  great  will  and  resist 
His  almighty  power.  Incased  by  my  free- 
dom, I  can  defy  His  worst.  In  spite  of  His 
awakened  wrath,  in  spite  of  all  His  enkindled 
hells,  in  spite  of  the  fiery  tempests  of  hot  dis- 
pleasure, I  can  plunge  on  through  the  eter- 
nities mocking  alike  the  mercy  that  saves  and 
the  wrath  that  torments.  This  is  royalty,  this 
is  kingship.  No  brief  authority  with  which 
we  have  been  clothed  by  the  consent  of  our 
12  177 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

fellows  or  by  the  incidents  of  a  moment,  but 
actual  power,  woven  into  the  very  texture  of 
our  being;  a  scepter  that  no  power  in  the  uni- 
verse can  bend.  We  meet  on  the  high  plane 
of  freedom  and  of  moral  character.  I  hail 
you  as  fellow-princes  and  potentates,  worthy 
companions  of  the  thrones  and  dominions  and 
powers  of  eternity.  Such  we  are  distinctively 
by  our  common  creed. 

We  also  hold  in  common  the  vital  truth 
of  salvation  by  faith;  not  by  works,  not  by 
individual  merit  enhanced  by  long  and  faith- 
ful service,  but  by  simple  faith.  This  was  the 
theory  of  the  Reformation  and  the  dream  of 
Protestantism.  Methodism  has  made  it  a 
resistless  reality  in  the  world. 

We  also  rejoice  in  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
to  every  state  and  work  of  grace.  This  is  pe- 
culiarly Methodistic — old  as  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  fact.  All  our  truths  are  of  great  an- 
tiquity, but  the  dust  of  oblivion  had  gathered 
a  yard  deep  on  many  of  them,  and  our  fathers 
exhumed  them  and  breathed  the  life  into 
them.  I  heard  of  a  Christian  brother  who  in 
a  union  service  testified,  saying,  'T  almost 
hope  that  God  may  partly  forgive  my  sins." 
Methodism  says,  ''We  have  peace  with  God" 
and  ''joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

178 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

I  find  in  our  common  patrimony  not  only 
a  universal  atonement,  and  free  grace  and 
free-will,  and  a  witnessing  Spirit,  but  also  full 
salvation.  Salvation  to  the  uttermost,  by 
which  we  are  enabled  to  walk  in  the  light, 
even  as  He  is  in  the  light.  With  such  a  body 
of  truth  held  in  common  it  is  not  difficult  to 
find  field  for  the  largest  sympathies.  Meet- 
ing you  in  the  vineyard  toiling  for  my  Lord, 
and  declaring  these  great  truths  from  my  in- 
most heart,  I  say  God  bless- you,  and  may  the 
voice  of  your  Gospel  reach  uncounted  thou- 
sands. 

Besides  these  gifts,  I  find  also  in  our  com- 
mon patrimony  some  wonderful  devices  and 
inventions.  Here  is  our  form  of  government, 
general  and  particular  oversight.  In  govern- 
ment Methodism  is  a  vast  system  of  superin- 
tendencies.  There  is  not  a  single  inch  of  the 
whole  field  of  our  activity,  from  the  infant 
class  in  the  Sunday-school  to  the  most  difficult 
work  of  administration,  that  is  not  covered  by 
a  watchful  eye.  There  is  some  one  at  every 
point,  whose  business  it  is  to  see  that  the  work 
is  done.  A  Church,  like  any  great  business, 
must  be  handled  on  business  principles,  and  it 
will  succeed  best  when  these  are  adhered  to 
most  faithfully.    You  must  so  manage  a  great 

179 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

plantation,  or  a  great  dry-goods  house,  or  a 
great  Church.  The  most  profitable  and  pro- 
ductive money  the  Church  expends  is  that 
which  she  invests  for  superintendency,  that 
which  is  paid  first  to  the  Bishops,  next  to  the 
Presiding  Elders,  all  up  and  down  the  land. 
This  secures  Church  authority  for  any  needed 
adjustment  at  any  given  point.  Change  is  se- 
cured without  revolution.  This  superintend- 
ency involves  two  momentous  results : 

I.  The  government  is  thus  made  most  pli- 
able. It  fits  down  into  all  the  hollows  and  up 
around  all  the  knolls.  Like  the  farmer's  old 
sled  that  broke  all  the  new  sleds,  there  is 
just  give  enough  to  it  to  avoid  the  strain.  It 
is  in  the  very  nature  of  the  organization  itself 
to  constitutionally  adjust  itself  to  the  new  con- 
ditions of  society.  We  meet  statedly  every 
four  years  for  this  very  purpose.  That  is 
what  you  are  here  for.  It  is  your  business  to 
see  that  the  Church  has  the  best  adjustment 
to  the  changes  in  circumstances,  whatever 
those  changes  may  be.  Methodist  polity  is 
the  best  agency  for  to-day.  Something  else 
for  to-morrow,  if  something  else  will  do  bet- 
ter. Methodism  is  sent  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners  from  their  sins,  and  in  the  spirit 
of  the  New  Testament  she  is  to  become  all 

180 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   U.   E.   CHURCH,   SOUTH 

things  to  all  men,  that  by  all  means  she  may 
save  some. 

2.  Her  system  of  superintendency  gives 
her  a  numerous  officiary.  This  raises  up  a 
great  multitude  under  the  conviction  of  re- 
sponsibility. They  feel  that  they  are  of  some 
account  to  somebody.  It  is  something  to  feel 
that  somebody  expects  something  of  us.  This 
pliable  system,  resting  upon  the  great  mass 
of  the  Church,  and  adapting  itself  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  times,  w^as  not  an  invention,  but 
a  growth  in  the  order  of  Providence. 

No  man  sat  down  and  thought  out  Metho- 
dism, or  evolved  it  from  his  inner  conscious- 
ness, as  the  German  philosopher  did  the 
camel.  It  is  a  growth  in  things.  Believers 
seeking  the  way  of  life  met  to  counsel  one 
another  and  make  their  weekly  contributions 
for  benevolence ;  and,  before  they  were  aware 
of  it,  there  were  the  class-meetings,  with  their 
songs  and  shouts  encircling  the  world.  Men 
relieved  from  the  load  of  their  guilt,  having 
the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  knowledge,  told 
the  wonderful  story  to  their  shop-mates,  and 
then  to  their  neighbors.  The  young  disciple 
thus  became  a  witness,  then  an  exhorter,  and 
then  the  societies  awoke  to  the  fact  that  they 
had  a  great  system  of  lay-helpers,  preachers 

181 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

that  staid  at  home,  anchored  to  the  cobbler's 
bench  or  the  blacksmith's  forge  —  local 
preachers,  supplying  the  work  in  vast  dis- 
tricts, and  preparing  the  multitudes  for  the 
more  stately  movements  of  the  Church.  The 
preachers  met  to  consult,  and  pray,  and  profit 
by  one  another's  experience,  and  plan  the 
work  for  the  future,  when  shortly  there  was 
born  the  vast  system  of  Conferences  that  finds 
its  consummation  of  wisdom  and  of  authority 
in  that  body.  Thus  Methodism  is  a  growth, 
and  so  is  exactly  fitted  to  its  place  and  work. 
This  great  system  of  government,  fitted  to  us, 
in  the  order  of  Providence,  as  neatly  as  the 
lion's  skin  is  fitted  to  the  lion,  is  our  common 
inheritance.  This  is  a  part  of  our  patrimony. 
As  I  believe,  and  as  you  believe,  it  is  one  of 
God's  favored  instrumentalities  for  the  cap- 
ture of  a  lost  race. 

Then  there  are  certain  usages  we  have  in 
common.  Methodism  has  been  the  champion 
of  congregational  singing.  Her  voice  has 
made  village,  hamlet,  and  wilderness  joyous 
with  praise  and  melody. 

Then,  too,  I  find  in  our  patrimony  a  won- 
derful use  of  the  gifts  and  talents  of  women. 
Methodism  first  broke  loose  from  the  bonds 
of  heathenism,  and  gave  woman  an  exalted 

182 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

place  among  her  agencies,  not  merely  to  do 
mission  work,  and  bear  the  burdens,  and  do 
the  drudgery,  but  also  to  exercise  her  gifts 
in  public  prayer,  and  testimony,  and  exhorta- 
tion. The  Church  could  not  do  less.  For, 
looking  to  her  origin,  then  away  back  in  the 
dark  vortex  of  formalism  and  practical  skep- 
ticism, standing  out  at  the  very  head  of  her 
human  influences,  and  shining  down  through 
all  her  experiences,  she  saw  the  mother  of  the 
Wesleys.  And  after  her  a  goodly  company, 
like  the  women  of  the  New  Testament,  wait- 
ing upon  the  cause  of  the  Lord,  and  speaking 
for  His  defense  in  all  times  of  peril. 

Thus,  brothers,  I  find  coming  up  to  the 
very  surface,  so  as  to  be  patent  to  all,  that  we 
have  a  common  heritage  in  Church  life.  All 
the  essential  elements  of  such  a  life  are  in 
both  of  our  Churches  identical.  The  founda- 
tion of  our  fellowship  is  as  deep  as  the  foun- 
dation of  our  religion.  On  this  tide  of  con- 
victions we  are  borne  along  together;  like 
wrestlers  in  a  floating  skifif,  we  may  struggle, 
but  we  are  borne  along  on  the  great  tide. 
Blasts  of  passion  may  sweep  our  seas  for  a 
season,  and  bear  us  up  into  the  eye  of  the  gale 
to  shiver  under  bare  poles.  But  the  great 
undertides   of   conviction   sweep   steadily  on 

183 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

one  way.  The  blast  soon  spends  its  fury,  the 
muttering  darkness  breaks  at  the  coming  of 
the  dawn,  peace  settles  upon  the  troubled 
waters,  the  gladsome  sunlight  pours  in  upon 
us,  we  unfurl  our  sails  to  the  laughing  breeze, 
and,  headed  toward  the  eternal  port,  make  our 
way  together  in  the  joy  of  our  substantial 
fellowship. 

Beyond  all  this,  I  find  in  our  common 
patrimony  a  vast  overflow  of  actual  Metho- 
dism into  all  the  Churches  of  the  land.  They 
have  received  our  spirit  and  truth,  and 
adopted  our  usages  and  forms,  till  now  they 
are  almost  Methodists.  We  have  received 
something  from  other  Churches,  and  we  have 
imparted  to  them  of  our  treasures.  I  would 
not  check  the  largest  charity,  nevertheless  I 
can  see  special  beauties  in  my  own  mother. 
Methodism  is  to  me  among  the  Churches 
what  my  mother  is  among  women.  She  may 
be  old  and  wrinkled,  and  bowed,  and  feeble, 
but  she  is  more  to  me  than  any  other  mother. 
A  man  may  think  well  of  all  women,  but  he 
must  love  his  own  wife  more  than  he  does 
other  men's  wives,  or  he  is  not  worthy  of  a 
wife.  So  you  will  allow  me  to  put  Metho- 
dism above  all  rivals.  There  is  hardly  a  doc- 
trine or  a  usage  of  our  Church  that  has  not 

184 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

provoked  the  scorn  of  the  older  Churches. 
Frequently  missiles,  often  mobs,  generally 
ostracism,  and  always  ridicule  and  contempt, 
greeted  the  doctrines,  and  practices,  and 
usages,  and  very  virtues,  of  Methodism.  But 
our  fathers  held  right  on.  The  good  news  w^as 
wdiat  sorrowing  men  wanted.  God  was  in  the 
work,  and  it  could  not  come  to  naught.  It 
took  hold  upon  the  common  want.  It  found  a 
mart  everywhere.  This  is  its  condensed  his- 
tory; first,  a  truth  uttered  among  threats  and 
missiles,  then  attention,  then  desire,  next  a 
want,  then  a  conviction,  after  that  a  purpose, 
next  a  contagion,  then  a  revolution,  and, 
finally,  a  new  civilization  with  the  new  evan- 
gel of  peace.  Nothing  succeeds  in  this  life 
like  success.  This  has  demonstrated  the 
powers  of  our  doctrines  and  usages,  till  now 
a  new  generation  in  nearly  all  the  communions 
about  us  have  adopted  our  tactics,  use  our 
hymns  to  a  great  extent,  and  preach  our  doc- 
trines. Men  who  twenty-five  years  ago  could 
hardly  say  that  they  had  even  hope  of  a  hope, 
now  testify  that  on  such  or  such  a  day  God, 
for  Christ's  sake,  forgave  their  sins  and  con- 
verted their  souls.  Frequently  the  new  expe- 
rience or  new  doctrine  is  coated  over  with  an 
old  term,  but  it  is  the  new  truth  and  new  power 

185 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

in  the  world.  It  is  a  ^'conference  meeting;" 
but  they  talk  and  sing  like  a  class-meeting.  It 
is  some  new-ornamented  word ;  but  it  has  the 
saving  truth  and  the  quickstep  of  activity  in 
the  music.  It  is  not  a  local  preacher;  but  it 
is  a  lay  preacher,  an  unordained  man  declar- 
ing his  experience,  and  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus.  Still  old  Scotland,  hallowed  by  the 
memory  of  grand  old  John  Knox,  who  on  his 
calloused  knees  cried  all  night,  ''Give  me 
Scotland  or  I  die!" — stiff  old  psalm-singing 
Scotland,  has  at  last  received  the  Methodist 
fire  from  a  Congregational  layman,  who  a 
dozen  years  ago  was  a  poor  shoe  clerk  in  Chi- 
cago, and  learned  to  work  and  talk  in  a  Meth- 
odist mission  school,  and  so  well  has  he 
learned  it  that  Spurgeon  wrote  him  the  other 
day,  saying:  "Come  up  hither,  for  thou  canst 
do  it  better  than  I."  Call  it  lay  preacher  or 
local  preacher — call  it  Congregationalism  or 
Methodism,  or  what  you  will — it  is  the  same 
living,  burning,  resistless,  almighty  power  for 
which  your  fathers  were  mocked  and  mobbed, 
ostracized  and  outraged.  This  is  the  great 
overflow  of  the  work  of  the  heroes  of  Metho- 
dism. It  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case  such 
men  must  build  larger  than  they  know.  No 
man  or  woman  can  rise  up  toward  God  and 

186 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.  E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

not  draw  others  up  a  little  out  of  their  depths. 
Flash  a  sunbeam  into  a  rat-hole,  and  you  have 
spoiled  it  as  a  rat-hole  forever.  The  rats  must 
either  move  out  or  be  transformed.  That 
itinerant  preacher  declaring  that  the  Son  of 
man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  and 
backing  it  with  the  clear  testimony,  ''My  God 
is  reconciled,  His  pardoning  voice  I  hear,"  has 
answered  all  the  doubts  of  that  poor  formalist 
who  is  mourning  and  doubting  as  in  constant 
fear  and  condemnation.  It  will  not  take  an 
honest  seeker  long  to  tell  where  to  ask  for 
instruction.  The  half-witted  boy  who  year 
by  year  sat  on  the  pulpit  steps  in  an  old  kirk 
in  Scotland,  when  by  and  by  there  was  an  in- 
quiry about  the  way  to  God,  stood  up  before 
the  seekers  and  said,  "Do  n't  seek  Deacon 
McCool's  God,  for  he  has  been  seeking  Him 
for  forty  years  and  has  not  found  Him  yet," 
has  sense  enough  to  state  a  fact.  Facts  are 
God's  arguments.  The  great  fact  of  God's 
saving  power  among  sinners  is  always  sure  to 
make  its  way.  So  the  sturdy  old  itinerants  go- 
ing in  the  face  of  prejudice  must  have  a  hear- 
ing, and  their  work  must  overflow  the  narrow 
rim  of  their  own  little  congregations.  Turn 
such  a  man  as  Paul  loose  in  Asia,  and  idols 
will  fall  by  the  thousands,  and  Churches  will 

187 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Start  up  like  dreams  of  a  night.  Turn  such  as 
John  Wesley  loose  in  Great  Britain  or 
Georgia,  and  his  footprints  will  impregnate 
the  earth  with  Methodism  so  that  you  can  fol- 
low the  trail  of  his  wanderings  guided  by  the 
light  of  the  Churches  and  the  songs  of  the 
saints.  The  overflow  of  these  labors,  quicken- 
ing all  communions  into  life,  is  the  common 
heritage  of  Methodism.  This  honor  rests 
equally  on  our  Churches. 

Brethren,  this  brings  me  to  speak  of  an- 
other common  heritage — the  heritage  of  her- 
oism. How  shall  I  speak  of  this  theme?  I 
approach  the  monuments  of  the  mighty  dead 
with  unsandaled  feet  and  uncovered  head.  I 
read  the  histories  of  the  fathers  of  Methodism, 
and  their  sufferings  move  my  pity,  their  labors 
bewilder  my  computation,  their  sacrifices  stag- 
ger my  credulity,  their  courage  inspires  my 
purpose,  and  their  heroism  challenges  my  ad- 
miration.   Theirs  was  the  age  of  heroes. 

Hercules  performing  his  twelve  labors, 
and  Samson  twisting  out  the  pillars  of  Dagon's 
temple,  were  babes  compared  with  Asbury. 
The  courage  of  Leonidas,  by  which  he  won 
liberty  for  Greece  at  the  pass  of  Thermopylae, 
was  a  mere  shadow  compared  with  the  cour- 
age of  the  old  itinerants.     There  are  Ther- 

188 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

mopylaes  and  Marathons  in  almost  every  old 
kitchen,  and  ancient  barn,  and  swamp,  and 
desert  of  this  land.  There  is  hardly  a  square 
yard  of  this  civilized  continent  that  has  not 
been  consecrated  by  their  tears,  and  perils,  and 
prayers.  Think  of  such  a  kingly  soul  as  As- 
bury,  the  mightiest  organizer  this  country  has 
ever  had,  working  for  sixty  dollars  a  year,  and 
never  receiving  more  than  eighty  dollars  a 
year.  What  shall  we  say  of  the  commanding 
Soule  hunting  sinners  from  the  lakes  to  the 
gulf  for  the  privilege  of  suffering  with  his 
Master?  What  shall  we  say  of  Hedding 
working  ten  years  for  forty-five  dollars  a 
year?  Estimated  by  the  arithmetic  of  this 
world,  that  is  swimming  rivers  filled  with 
floating  ice  and  sleeping  in  the  wilderness 
with  wolves  to  howl  him  to  sleep,  and  panthers 
to  watch  his  repose,  and  all  this  for  about 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  a  day.  O  God!  that 
hero's  w^ork  should  be  so  cheap,  and  the  trials 
of  the  saints  so  abundant.  But  this  now  is 
our  common  patrimony. 

Such  leaders  begat  a  worthy  people.  They 
drew  around  them  kindred  souls.  In  the  so- 
ciety of  Napoleon  we  are  not  surprised  to  meet 
warriors.  ^Yith  these  leaders  even  women 
were  not  one  whit  behind  the  bravest.     Yon- 

189 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

der,  in  the  forest  of  Georgia,  just  after  the 
close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  two  heroic 
women,  living  six  miles  apart,  comprised  the 
believers  of  the  entire  region.  They  met 
statedly  for  prayer  under  a  tree  half  way  be- 
tween their  cabins,  and  God  heard  their 
prayer.  And  so  did  a  hunter.  That  was  not 
the  game  he  was  hunting,  but  somehow  he 
found  his  way  regularly  into  ambush  near  that 
consecrated  spot.  Soon  he  was  convicted. 
Good  enough  for  him.  He  might  have  ex- 
pected it,  hiding  in  such  a  presence.  Then  he 
invited  them  and  their  meeting  into  his  cabin 
near  by.  They  went  to  find  it  filled  with  all 
the  people  of  the  region,  gotten  together  for  a 
prayer-meeting.  The  word  of  these  brave 
w^omen  took  hold.  As  we  might  expect,  the 
ubiquitous  itinerant  was  soon  there.  The 
Church  thus  begotten  has  had  almost  a  cen- 
tury of  prosperity.  This  land  is  full  of  holy 
memories.  Its  streams  and  its  mountain 
passes,  its  ancient  forests,  and  its  lonely  defiles, 
its  barren  rivers  and  its  dangerous  morasses, 
are  all  luminous  with  the  journeyings  of  these 
wandering  saints. 

I  like  to  look  at  these  old  worthies.  Take 
the  average  man  among  them,  with  his  ward- 
robe  and  his   library  balanced   on   his   arm. 

190 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

I  wish  I  could  give  you  a  good  picture  of  the 
early  itinerant.  Some  of  you  have  seen  him. 
He  is  tall  as  the  sons  of  Kentucky;  spare,  but 
neither  lank  nor  flabby.  His  occasional  meals 
do  not  insure  corpulence,  and  his  long  jour- 
neys toughen  his  frame  and  temper  his  mus- 
cles into  cords  of  steel.  His  step  is  quick,  and 
his  stride  is  long,  like  the  gait  of  a  messenger; 
for  the  imperious  "Go"  of  the  Galilean  is 
sounding  behind  him,  and  the  King's  business 
requireth  haste.  His  head  is  large,  and  is  car- 
ried straight  up  like  the  head  of  a  prince.  He 
is  a  son  of  the  Highest.  His  lips  are  com- 
pressed. He  means  conquest;  he  expects  vic- 
tory. His  eye  blazes  with  the  light  of  unseen 
worlds.  His  face  is  bronzed  a  little  with 
southern  suns  and  northern  blasts,  but  it  is  set 
one  way,  and  that  way  is  toward  the  future. 
He  is  going  through  the  world  to  heaven. 
Circumstances  are  his  servants.  A  stump,  a 
kitchen  table,  or  a  manger  serve  him  for  a 
pulpit  as  well  as  a  box  on  the  shoulders  of 
carved  apostles,  and  better,  too;  for  he  has  far 
better  use  for  his  apostles  than  standing  in 
speechless  groups  in  vacant  temples.  He  does 
not  wait  for  stately  cathedrals;  a  cleared  space 
in  the  forest  or  a  barn  will  serve  him  for  an 
auditorium.      A    chance    companion    of    the 

191 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

highway,  the  border  family  around  the  rude 
fireplace,  the  trapper  before  his  camp-fire; 
any  of  these  is  an  audience.  Indeed,  wherever 
he  can  get  space  to  stand  and  an  ear  to  hear, 
he  has  the  conditions  for  answering  the  pur- 
poses of  his  calling.  He  works  from  an  inner 
impulse,  and  so  is  superior  to  disadvantages. 
His  resources  are  within.  He  is  self-reliant; 
he  is  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  is  in  league  with 
events.  Alone,  he  can  grapple  with  fate. 
With  his  empty  hands  he  can  strangle  destiny. 
Turned  into  a  community,  he  creates  a  society 
and  a  following.  Having  nothing  to  lose  of 
this  world's  goods,  he  abandons  himself  to  the 
one  idea  of  his  mission.  His  voice  breaks  in 
upon  the  public  ear  like  the  trump  of  God. 
His  notes  of  warning  are  caught  from  the  lips 
of  inspiration.  His  weapons  are  forged  on 
the  holy  altar.  He  hastens  round  the  circuit 
of  duties,  a  messenger  from  God  with  warn- 
ings for  the  heedless,  perils  for  the  obdurate, 
courage  for  the  timid,  arguments  for  the 
doubting,  peace  for  the  troubled,  comfort  for 
the  sorrowing,  mercy  for  the  penitent,  and  sal- 
vation for  the  believing. 

Toiling  amid  the  scenes  of  childhood,  he 
is  watched  like  a  stranger.  Meeting  all  the 
duties  of  a  citizen,  he  endures  privations  like 

192 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  M,   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

a  foreigner.  Rising  above  the  boundary  lines 
of  human  geographies,  he  finds  his  fatherland 
everywhere.  Poor,  he  has  the  pearl  of  great 
price,  and  enriches  many.  Maligned,  he  lifts 
up  the  fallen,  and  clothes  with  righteousness 
the  outcast.  Cursed,  he  changes  the  maledic- 
tions of  enemies  into  blessings  by  the  meekness 
of  his  endurance  and  the  heroism  of  his  faith. 
Persecuted,  he  returns  mercy  for  missiles,  and 
answers  the  shouts  of  the  mob  with  prayers 
and  pardon.  He  is  too  full  of  his  immortal 
idea  to  be  killed,  and  too  intimate  with  God  to 
be  hurt.  Wearing  Elijah's  cloak,  he  rebukes 
sin;  riding  in  Elijah's  chariot,  he  escapes  it. 
He  is  to  the  first  century  of  Methodism  what 
Paul  was  to  the  first  century  of  Christianity. 

Behold  our  vast  army  of  enemies,  rational- 
ism and  rum,  and  a  horrid  host.  Here  I  meet 
another  enemy — greed  of  gain,  the  madness  of 
men  for  w^ealth ;  not  so  much  to  hoard  it,  like 
old-fashioned  misers,  but  to  lavish  it  on  them- 
selves and  on  their  passions,  like  old-fashioned 
prodigals.  This  ungodly  greed  must  be  slain 
in  the  Church  and  constantly  rebuked  out  of 
the  Church. 

Where  can  we  find  forces  to  mass  against 
corruption  in  office  and  out  of  it?  Where 
shall  we  find  a  tonic  that  will  tone  up  the  pub- 

13  193 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

lie  conscience,  and  make  it  fatal  to  steal  from 
the  public  treasury  or  betray  the  public  con- 
fidence? 

What  guard  shall  we  post  about  the  sanc- 
tity of  virtue?  With  what  legions  shall  we 
trample  out  the  social  evil?  By  what  power 
shall  we  shut  off  the  flood  of  foolish  and 
ruinous  literature?  How  can  the  hosts  of  Is- 
rael be  made  to  check  the  mighty  onrushing 
tide  of  worldliness?  Surely  we  are  not  only 
born  from  heroic  stock,  but  we  are  also  born 
into  heroic  work.  Sometimes,  when  I  look 
over  my  appointments,  such  as  are  common 
in  these  days,  with  good  Church  edifice  and 
furnished  parsonage,  and  organized  society, 
and  responsible  trustees,  and  certain  support, 
and  see  these  as  the  fruit  of  the  labors  of  he- 
roic, kingly,  and  godly-anointed  souls,  who 
had  such  kinship  with  the  Almighty  that  they 
could  speak  light  out  of  darkness,  call  order 
out  of  chaos,  and  create  a  Church  out  of  noth- 
ing, I  have  felt  not  a  little  humiliated  at  not 
being  counted  worthy  of  some  more  perilous 
post.  Two  years  ago  I  stood  in  the  ashes  of 
one  of  our  desolated  cities,  and  saw  our 
Church  enterprises  prostrate  and  our  brethren 
pensioners  upon  public  benevolence.  I  stood 
there  in  the  little  council,  surrounded  by  some 

194 


ADDRESS  TO  THE   M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

of  the  old  veterans  who  had  camped  there  by 
the  old  fort  before  there  was  any  city;  wlio 
had  toiled  on  through  all  hardships  for  the 
Church;  who  had  prayed  at  the  planting  of 
every  charge,  and  watered  each  new  sprout 
with  anxious  tears.  I  looked  upon  them — = 
old,  bowed,  and  trembling — and  saw  the  spar- 
kle of  the  old  fire  in  their  weeping  eyes.  I 
never  felt  more  grateful  for  anything  than  I 
did  that  hour  for  the  vigor  of  early  life,  and 
for  the  privilege  of  trying  to  repeat  the  work 
of  the  worn  heroes  about  me.  Standing  where 
I  do  this  hour,  surrounded  by  the  princes  of 
Israel,  before  this  host  of  skilled  and  valiant 
warriors,  it  seems  a  poor  test  of  a  man's  metal 
to  be  a  saint  in  these  days.  But  when  I  look 
forth  upon  the  enemy,  see  his  hosts  moving 
down  upon  the  Church  from  all  quarters  and 
with  all  weapons,  open  infidels  charging  in 
solid  squares,  scoffers  over-awing  the  recruits, 
scientists  trying  to  cut  ofif  supplies,  naturalists 
sapping  and  mining  the  foundations,  liberal- 
ists  spiking  the  guns,  and  worldlings  poison- 
ing the  rations,  then  it  seems  to  me  no  mean 
degree  of  strife.  John  Wesley  or  Francis  As- 
bury  might  turn  over  in  their  coffins,  and  be 
glad  to  rise  from  their  graves  to  scourge  Dar- 
win back  to  his  ancestors.     Adam  Clarke  or 

195 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Jesse  Lee  might  count  it  all  joy  to  cross  lances 
with  Huxley.  The  sainted  Fletcher  or  the 
saintly  Cookman  could  well  afford  to  be  trans- 
lated over  again  for  the  privilege  of  clasping 
the  arms  of  their  prayer  about  Tyndall  and  his 
prayer-gauge.  We  are  in  no  mean  encounter. 
The  enemies  of  God  in  these  days  must  be  met 
foot  to  foot  and  hand  to  hand,  as  of  old.  The 
hosts  of  Israel,  like  the  squares  of  Britons  on 
the  field  of  Waterloo,  must  stand  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  heeding  only  the  voice  of  the  great 
Commander. 

Brothers,  the  one  conflict  of  the  ages  cul- 
minates about  us.  Methodism  is  in  the 
breach.  Around  the  head  of  our  column  rally 
the  moral  forces  of  the  universe.  The  shades 
of  the  mighty  dead  are  watching  every  for- 
ward step.  Hell  trembles  as  we  crowd  to- 
gether in  the  contest.  The  redeemed  shout 
new  victory  as  we  forget  self  and  all  but  the 
great  cause  in  the  hour  of  peril.  As  I  stand 
in  this  presence — I  do  not  mean  this  company 
of  itinerants,  I  mean  this  cloud  of  witnesses, 
these  contending  hosts,  this  one  imperiled 
cause  of  my  dying  Master — as  I  stand  in  this 
presence  I  am  compelled  to  ask.  What  am  I? 
What  are  you?  What  is  any  man,  in  such  an 
hour,  that  sufferings  and  persecutions  should 

196 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH 

be  considered  for  one  moment?  The  other 
day  in  Congress,  Lamar,  the  honored  son  of 
Mississippi,  said:  ''All  occasion  for  strife  and 
distrust  between  the  North  and  the  South  has 
passed  away,  and  there  no  longer  remains  any 
cause  for  continued  estrangement.  My  coun- 
trymen, know  one  another,  and  you  will  love 
one  another."  Forgiveness  and  charity  must 
never  find  better  examples  and  more  living 
embodiments  in  political  parties  than  in  the 
Methodist  Church.  Our  Redeemer,  in  whom 
we  are  freely  pardoned,  says,  "Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give."  Brothers,  I  look  at 
you  with  straight,  honest  northern  eyes,  and 
out  of  my  inmost  heart,  in  the  name  of  our 
common  Lord,  our  common  faith,  our  com- 
mon polity,  our  common  usages,  our  common 
experience,  our  common  heritage  of  heroism, 
our  common  inheritance  of  labor,  our  com- 
mon commission  from  God,  in  the  name  of 
all  that  a  Christian  holds  sacred,  on  behalf  of 
the  fifteen  hundred  thousand  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I  bid  you  God- 
speed. One  in  every  essential  element  of  our 
Church  life,  let  us  also  be  one  in  heart. 

Leaving  organic  union  as  a  question  of 
the  future,  let  us  make  the  union  of  our  hearts 
the  question  of  to-day,  and  make  holy  cove- 

197 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

nant  that,  from  this  hour,  one  In  sympathy  and 
one  In  purpose,  we  will  toll  on,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  waiting  patiently  for  that  near  to- 
morrow, when  there  shall  be  one  Methodism 
for  mankind. 


198 


FRATERNAL  ADDRESS  TO  BRITISH 

WESLEY  AN  CONFERENCE 


By  the  appointment  of  the  Board  of  Bishops  this  address 

was  dehvered  as  the  quadrennial   greeting  of  the 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  the  British 

Wesleyan  Conference  held  at  Hull, 

England,    in    July,    1898. 


FRATERNAL  ADDRESS  TO  BRITISH 
WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

^'Mr.  Whatisname"  had  it  as  his  solitary 
honor  that  in  their  school  days  he  was 
whipped  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  It  is 
more  glory  than  is  often  achieved  by  men  to 
have  lost  Waterloo.  So  I  stand  in  this  pres- 
ence to-day,  content  though  anxious.  Heads 
I  win,  points  you  lose.  This  is  one  of  the 
foci  of  the  world's  spiritual  ellipse.  The  other 
is  West  of  the  Sea.  Fifteen  million  members 
and  adherents  are  standing  in  their  doors 
looking  this  way  to  see  how  you  receive  their 
representative.  Trusting  the  Mother-heart  of 
Methodism,  they  are  confident.  As  a  mother 
easily  forgives  a  daughter  for  loving  her,  so 
you  will  be  patient  with  my  assurance  of  our 
affection. 

In  the  old  days  when  there  were  foreign 
nations,  before  all  nations  had  moved  into  one 
dooryard,  a  king  wishing  to  visit  another  king 
would  send  messengers  to  that  king  to  express 
his  good  will  and  afTection,  and  to  tell  him 
that  at  such  a  time,  and  with  so  many  ships 

201 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  forces,  he  would  land  on  his  shores  to  pay 
him  a  visit.  The  king  and  people  to  be  thus 
honored  would  carefully  study  the  bearing 
and  character  and  culture  and  utterances  of 
those  messengers,  that  they  might  judge  some- 
what of  the  character  of  the  king  who  was  to 
become  their  guest.  It  has  pleased  your  noble 
body  to  send  messengers  from  time  to  time  to 
our  far-ofif  shores  to  express  your  goodwill  and 
affection  for  us  and  in  their  person  to  visit  us. 
We  have  carefully  studied  their  bearings  and 
character  and  culture  and  utterances.  I  can 
but  poorly  tell  you  what  an  exalted  character 
you  have  in  our  eyes.  I  can  only,  I  need  only, 
mention  the  names,  and  so  call  to  your  own 
quick  memories  the  forms  of  some  of  the 
splendid  messengers  that  represented  you  and 
honored  us.  We  have  not  yet  ceased  smiling 
and  rejoicing  over  Dr.  Watkinson  and  Dr. 
Johnson,  his  companion  from  this  side,  beauti- 
fully matched,  as  fine  a  brace  as  any  hunter 
need  ever  hope  to  bag.  I  am  sure  they  will 
pardon  me  that  figure.  I  hardly  remember 
how  Dr.  Watkinson  looked;  I  think  he  did 
straighten  up  and  tower  up  above  us.  But  I 
remember  the  wit  and  wisdom  and  brilliant 
utterances  that  gushed  and  flashed  from  every 
feature  and  pore  while  he  took  us  through  the 

202 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

laboratory  and  on  into  the  inner  treasury  and 
exhibited  to  our  enraptured  gaze  the  Kohi- 
noor  and  Crown  Jewels  of  your  wisdom.  We 
are  still  watching  and  expecting  that  through 
some  half-open  door  or  around  some  corner  he 
will  thrust  up  his  head  and  cheer  us  all  again. 
He  pervades  the  air;  we  hope  he  will  mate- 
rialize again. 

Brothers,  I  have  repeatedly  looked  about 
in  these  honored  places  for  another  form, 
stout,  compact,  a  picture  of  kindliness.  He 
sat  in  our  midst  yonder  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  Father  of  Waters,  half  a  dozen  years 
ago,  and  he  seems  to  sit  with  us  still.  In  my 
school-boy  days  I  wandered  with  him  all  over 
Attica  digging  Greek  roots,  and  all  up  and 
down  the  Promised  Land  hunting  for  Greek 
particles.  No  young  Athenian  ever  followed 
Socrates  about  Athens  with  greater  delight 
than  that  with  which  I  followed  dear,  gentle, 
scholarly,  world-renowned  William  Fiddian 
Moulton.  He  has  passed  up  to  be  a  prince 
in  that  land  to  which  earthly  pilgrims  carry 
only  what  they  know  and  what  they  are.  I 
am  sorry  that  we  shall  not  see  him  again  in 
these  parts,  but  we  shall  remember  him  as 
long  as  scholars  study  the  original  text  or  the 


203 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

common  people  read  the  Revised  English 
Bible. 

We  have  not  forgotten  another  prince, 
William  Arthur,  who  came  to  us  nearly  a 
score  of  years  ago,  a  citizen  of  all  lands,  a 
herald  able  to  pray  in  half  a  dozen  languages, 
and  able  to  preach  with  a  "tongue  of  fire" 
in  half  a  hundred  more,  and  able  to  hold  his 
own  tongue  in  them  all.  A  scholar,  a  preacher, 
a  sage,  a  saint  lingering  a  little  outside  the 
golden  gate,  in  order  to  show  us  what  kind  of 
people  they  have  inside  and  to  show  them 
what  kind  of  people  we  can  produce  outside. 

Time  forbids  my  lingering  with  Kelly  and 
Young,  and  Pope  and  Rigg,  noble  workers 
who  left  in  our  land  only  blessed  memories. 

Pardon  me,  I  know  you  will  bear  with 
me  a  moment  while  I  mention  one  other  name, 
the  first  that  came  our  way  in  my  day.  It  was 
a  generation  ago.  It  seems  but  yesterday,  the 
vision  was  so  bright  and  the  memory  is  so 
vivid.  He  came  to  us  the  Orator  of  English 
Methodism,  the  Orator  of  the  English  pulpit, 
with  less  than  half  a  score  of  peers,  the  Orator 
of  the  English  tongue,  a  preacher  with  a  style 
that  would  crowd  all  the  streets  about  Exeter 
Hall  with  carriages,  bearing  crests,  coronets, 
and  coats  of  arms,  and  with  a  simplicity  that 

204 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

lifted  the  thatch  of  the  poor  man's  cabin  above 
the  stars  and  let  in  the  light  that  is  brighter 
than  the  noonday's  sun,  over  the  altar  of  whose 
service  the  angels  of  thought  and  of  voice 
touched  their  golden  wings,  William  Morley 
Punshon,  yours  and  ours  and  God's.  He  be- 
longed to  three  Hemispheres,  the  Eastern  and 
the  Western  and  the  Eternal.  As  he  stood 
among  us  we  hung  upon  his  lips  and  wxpt  and 
wondered.  We  followed  him  from  city  to 
city,  and  blessed  the  land  and  the  Church  that 
had  sent  us  such  an  inspiration. 

Brothers,  with  such  specimens  to  study  and 
such  memories  to  cherish,  you  must  not  be 
surprised  that  we  reverence  your  venerable 
body  and  esteem  it  a  high  privilege  to  stand 
in  this  presence.  I  bring  to  you  the  hearty 
and  most  ardent  greetings  from  a  Church  that 
rejoices  in  being  your  offspring.  It  is  woven 
into  the  very  constitution  of  the  human  mind 
that  we  must  love  those  whom  we  have  helped. 
So  we  count  with  certainty  upon  your  loving 
us.  You  may  want  to  chasten,  "whom  God 
loveth  He  chasteneth,"  but  you  must  love  us. 

If  I  were  hung  on  the  highest  hill, 
I  know  whose  love  would  follow  me  still, 
O,  mother  o'  mine.      O,  mother  o'  mine. 

205 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

If  I  were  drowned  in  the  deepest  sea, 
I  know  whose  tears  would  come  down  to  me, 
O,  mother  o'  mine.      O,  mother  o'  mine. 

If  I  were  damned  of  body  and  soul, 
I  know  whose  prayers  would  make  me  whole, 
O,  mother  o'  mine.      O,  mother  o'  mine. 

In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we 
open  our  hearts  and  report  our  stewardship. 

Strangers  among  us  may  think  we  say  too 
much  about  ourselves  and  our  achievements. 
Perhaps  we  will,  but  that  is  our  errand.  This 
is  our  review  day.  We  know  more  about  our 
defects  and  needs  than  any  enemy  could  pos- 
sibly tell  us.  But  we  are  not  mendicants 
standing  on  the  highway  exhibiting  our  de- 
formities, making  profit  out  of  our  distresses. 
We  are  mustering  for  a  continued  campaign, 
and  we  can  win  no  battles  with  the  flag  at 
half-mast.  Please  expect  chiefly  achieve- 
ments ;  we  will  avoid  boasting.  A  modest  girl 
went  to  the  confessional  and  told  the  priest  she 
had  kissed  her  intended.  He  asked:  "How 
many  times,  Bridget?"  She  replied:  "Holy 
Father,  I  am  here  to  confess,  not  to  boast." 
Holy  Fathers,  we  are  here  to  confess,  not  to 
boast. 

In  this  time  of  strife  and  general  anxiety, 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  there  are  spe- 

206 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

cial  reasons  adding  interest  to  our  expressions 
of  fraternal  feeling.  As  believers  in  God  we 
rejoice  that  our  most  sensitive  spirit  of  rever- 
ence is  never  shocked  by  the  purposes  of  our 
governments  nor  by  the  most  private  personal 
characters  of  our  rulers.  I  utter  the  convic- 
tion of  the  people  whom  I  represent  when  I 
say  that  we  regard  it  as  God's  richest  blessing 
to  England  that  He  has  prolonged  the  glori- 
ous life  of  the  noble  woman  whose  exalted 
Christian  character  has  made  her  reign  the 
most  illustrious  in  the  annals  of  time.  God 
bless  Victoria,  England's  magnificent  queen! 

We  are  sure  that  you  will  rejoice  to  have 
me  say  from  personal  knowledge  that  an  ex- 
emplary Christian  and  a  Methodist  communi- 
cant occupies  the  White  House,  a  man  who 
is  more  anxious  to  please  God  than  to  please 
any  other  being  in  the  universe.  We  know  his 
integrity  and  honor;  we  believe  in  his  per- 
sonal religious  experience.  God  bless  Wil- 
liam McKinley,  the  honored  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America! 

We  are  of  one  Blood. 

Brothers  must  stand  together.  ''Blood  is 
thicker  than  water."  You  will  remember 
when  this  fact  counted  for  something.  Lying 
for  a  week  once  ofif  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho, 

207 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

waiting  for  a  sea  breeze  to  help  us  over  the 
bar,  an  old  English  mariner  pointed  out  to 
me  a  spot  where  he  learned  this  truth.  He 
said:  ''It  was  during  the  war  between  Eng- 
land and  China;  our  ship,  a  British  man-of- 
war,  was  decoyed  by  misplaced  buoys  out  of 
the  channel  and  left  by  a  receding  tide  help- 
less under  the  guns  of  a  Chinese  battery.  An 
American  man-of-war  lying  near  saw  the  sit- 
uation, and  the  captain  said  to  his  men: 
'Blood  is  thicker  than  water;  clear  the  ship 
for  action.'  Swinging  into  place,  he  opened 
a  broadside  on  the  Chinese  battery,  silencing 
it,  till  the  returning  tide  enabled  us  to  take 
care  of  ourselves."  He  added:  "I  shall  never 
forget  that  blood  is  thicker  than  water."  The 
times  may  not  be  far  off  when  we  can  help 
keep  Saxon  blood  from  being  spilled.  I  know 
not  "the  mysteries  and  reticences"  of  diplo- 
macy, but  I  come  from  among  the  people  be- 
yond the  sea,  and  I  know  that  Secretary 
Chamberlain's  plain  statement,  made  in  Bir- 
mingham, May  13th,  is  "understanded  of  the 
people."  Yonder  now  we  are  one  people,  no 
North,  no  South.  The  grandson  of  General 
Grant  and  the  grand-nephew  of  General  Lee 
are  marching  side  by  side  under  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  fighting  a  foreign  foe,  a  foe  in  whose 

208 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

captured  warships  of  the  broken  Armada 
your  sires  found  ail  the  appointments  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition,  racks,  wheels,  thumb- 
screws, and  every  known  instrument  of  tor- 
ture shipped  and  brought  along  to  torture  the 
life  out  of  Protestantism  in  these  islands.  I 
know  the  temper  of  the  men  whom  you  bred 
for  battle.  If  we  put  four  millions  of  Saxon 
soldiers  into  the  Civil  War  thirty  years  ago, 
we  can  more  than  double  that  number,  we  can 
make  it  ten  millions  to-day,  if  Anglo-Saxon 
rights  need  defending. 

We  have  one  Religion, 

In  these  Christian  countries,  where  the 
Ten  Commandments  are  law,  where  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  is  authority,  where  Deism 
is  tinctured  with  the  gospel,  and  where  even 
Agnosticism  is  illumined  by  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, it  is  easier  to  criticise  than  to  appre- 
ciate God^s  eternal  purpose  of  redeeming  love. 
But  go  away  to  the  Far  East,  where  idolatry 
infects  the  air,  where  hate  and  fear  are  the 
supreme  motives,  where  corruption  is  chin 
deep  to  the  tallest  souls,  and  where  the  dragon 
reigns  without  a  rival,  there  you  find  that  even 
a  Christianity  that  is  only  formal  is  separated 
from  every  other  religion  by  the  wide  diam- 
eter of  the  moral  government.     Pagan  and 

14  209 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Mohammedan  sink  together  in  the  hopeless 
abyss.  A  few  months  ago  an  English  mer- 
chantman was  in  the  harbor  at  Smyrna  loaded 
with  figs  intended  for  New  York,  waiting  for 
his  clearance  papers,  when  some  fugitive  Ar- 
menians, pursued  by  a  band  of  Turks  bent  on 
slaughter  and  rapine  came  on  board  begging 
for  protection.  The  merchantman  refused  to 
let  the  fugitives  be  taken  from  his  ship.  The 
Turks  said :  "We  will  bring  more  soldiers,  and 
take  you,  too."  The  Briton  asked  an  Italian 
warship  to  protect  them.  The  Italian  captain 
coldly  replied:  "The  soldiers  of  the  King  of 
Italy  are  here  to  protect  only  the  subjects  of 
the  King  of  Italy."  An  American  warship 
pushed  into  the  harbor.  The  English  captain 
appealed  to  the  American  captain.  The 
American  shoved  his  war-vessel  in  behind  the 
merchantman  and  quietly  pushed  him  safely 
out  to  sea,  saying:  "Get  your  clearance  papers 
in  New  York."  The  authorities  in  New  York 
remitted  the  fine,  and  commended  the  decision 
of  both  Saxons.  The  bond  of  religion  is 
stronger  all  the  world  over  than  even  the 
fabled  serpent  that  once  encircled  the  globe. 
Again,  we  are  one  in  Faith,  the  Faith  of 
Protestantism.  No  argument  is  needed  for 
this   in   England,   where   nearly  every   great 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN   CONFERENCE 

family  has  sometime  learned  by  personal  suf- 
fering what  the  faith  cost,  and  where  the 
ashes  from  Smithfield  has  sifted  into  nearly 
every  home  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and 
where  the  whole  history,  from  the  courage  of 
Henry  VIII  to  the  stupidity  of  James  II,  and 
to  the  wisdom  of  Victoria,  has  made  it  forever 
possible  for  every  Englishman  to  worship  as 
he  pleases. 

Again,  we  are  one  in  Denomination. 

This  knits  us,  and  knits  us  in  the  circle 
of  the  family.  We  understand  each  other's 
language,  the  language  of  Israel ;  we  know 
the  accent.  The  spiritual  brogue  is  music  in 
our  ears.  We  recognize  the  swing  of  conquest 
and  the  shout  of  victory.  It  is  hard  to  find 
a  Church  in  America  that  has  not  a  good 
sprinkling  of  salt  from  fair  Albion.  Once  to 
know  a  man  as  a  true  Methodist  is  to  make 
assurance  doubly  sure.  Well  do  I  remember 
once  being  down  in  a  mining  shaft  in  the 
far  West,  when  it  was  necessary  for  me  to 
climb  a  perpendicular  ladder  two  hundred 
feet  high.  It  seemed  utterly  impossible.  Just 
then  a  stout  Yorkshire  man  said:  'T  will  help 
you."  I  asked:  ''Who  are  you?"  He  said: 
"Brother,  I  am  a  local  preacher  in  the  Metho- 
dist Church.    I  will  follow  up  after  you,  and 

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ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

if  you  should  faint  you  can  not  fall  past  me." 
I  believed  him.  His  faith  kindled  mine,  and 
I  went  up  without  fear  and  without  nervous 
strain,  but  not  without  weariness.  Our  very 
fellowship  bonds  bind  us  together. 

One  in  Blood,  one  in  Religion,  one  in 
Faith,  and  one  in  Denominational  experi- 
ences. We  are  woven  together  by  all  the 
strong  threads  that  make  up  the  warp  and 
woof  of  that  wonderful  garment  which  we 
call  civilization.  Your  literature,  your  his- 
tory, your  achievements,  are  ours.  Art,  sci- 
ence, commerce,  and  trade  pontoon  the  sea. 
American  dramatists  measure  by  English 
standards.  Irving  and  Kipling  have  the  free- 
dom of  every  American  city.  The  harvest 
waves  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
bin  is  in  Liverpool.  The  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road is  an  English  company.  The  great  Cable 
Company  is  owned  in  New  York.  English 
jurists  listen  to  the  opinion  of  our  judges,  and 
we  study  English  precedents.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century  we  were  a  stormy  month 
apart.  To-day  our  borders  touch.  We  talk 
to  each  other  in  our  offices,  from  opposite  sides 
of  the  ocean,  as  easily  as  our  mothers  chatted 
in  one  sitting-room.  We  are  less  than  forty 
seconds  apart  to-day. 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

Carlyle  said  England  would  sooner  lose 
her  Indian  Empire  than  her  Shakespeare. 
I  am  sure  we  could  not  spare  Shakespeare  or 
our  English  libraries.  Take  away  that  litera- 
ture and  we  would  feel  unravelled.  Had 
Bonaparte  seen  our  literature,  our  trade,  and 
^'ocean  greyhounds"  and  ocean  cables,  he 
would  not  have  prophesied  that  ''the  end  of 
this  century  would  see  Europe  all  Republican 
or  all  Cossack."  He  would  have  said,  ''Asia 
may  be  Cossack,  but  Europe  must  be  constitu- 
tional, recognizing  the  dominance  of  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking people."  This  flowing  into  one 
channel  is  deeper  than  any  after-dinner 
speech.  It  is  the  resistless  intermingling  of 
common  convictions,  common  faiths,  common 
mental  habits,  and  common  interests,  and  the 
working  out  of  a  common  destiny. 

There  are  great  and  resistless  rivers,  gulf- 
streams  flowing  through  the  bosom  of  the 
oceans  age  after  age,  carrying  the  tropics  to- 
ward the  poles,  changing  the  climate  of  great 
zones,  and  molding  the  forms  of  the  conti- 
nents. I  have  drifted  in  one  of  these  streams 
up  into  the  North  Pacific,  almost  up  to  the 
Arctic  circle,  and  have  found  the  tropics  so 
borne  along  that  even  on  the  shores  of  Puget 
Sound  roses  would  bloom  out  of  doors  eleven 

213 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

months  in  the  year,  and  potatoes,  unprotected, 
could  He  out  on  top  of  the  ground  all  winter 
and  not  freeze  the  under  half.  And  away 
north  in  Sitka,  in  Alaska,  the  thermometer  has 
been  so  crippled  as  to  be  unable  to  drop  be- 
low zero  more  than  four  times  in  forty  years, 
and  only  once  as  low  as  eight  degrees  below 
zero  in  all  that  time.  So  there  are  great  gulf 
streams  sweeping  through  all  zones  of  human 
history,  and  the  business  of  the  political  and 
ecclesiastical  statesman  is  to  know  the  sweep 
of  these  streams  and  mark  their  influences 
upon  the  people  and  by  them  mold  his  policies. 

The  power  of  the  after-dinner  speech  in 
Birmingham  that  so  shook  all  Europe  consists 
in  the  fact  that  the  statesman,  with  the  vision 
of  the  prophet,  has  discovered  one  of  the  great 
gulf-streams  and  has  committed  himself  to 
the  current  of  events.  Interests  and  ambitions 
may  spur  these  English-speaking  groups  to 
struggle  for  the  front,  but,  like  wrestlers  in  a 
floating  canoe,  we  struggle  but  we  go  forward 
on  the  resistless  current.  The  most  and  the 
best  we  can  do  is  to  take  the  Son  of  God  as 
our  Pilot  and  accept  the  inevitable  joyfully. 

I  suppose  I  must  report  some  statistics.  I 
am  glad  of  it,  for  I  like  statistics.  But  I  am 
not  here  to  give  you  our  Year  Book.    I  could 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

have  sent  that  by  mail.  Statistics  tell  what 
has  been  done.  1  prefer  to  tell  you  of  the 
tide  of  our  feeling  toward  you,  the  deep  cur- 
rent that  underlies  all  our  statistics,  that  causes 
our  statistics  to  come  to  pass. 

PVe  are  interpreting  our  errand,  trying  to 
find  out  why  God  sent  Methodism  into  the 
world. 

Let  me  state,  or  rather  intimate,  the  sub- 
stances of  our  faith.  I  think  I  could  show 
you  my  intellectual  grip  by  squeezing  the 
juice  all  out  of  my  statements,  so  that  if  you 
bored  a  gimlet  hole  into  it  the  sawdust  would 
run  out,  but  I  am  not  writing  a  work  on  sys- 
tematic theology;  I  wish  simply  to  indicate 
our  working  theology,  so  you  can  judge  a  little 
what  we  are  up  to. 

We  believe  in  a  real  Divine,  Personal 
God,  able  to  do  things,  able  to  hear  and  an- 
swer, and  deliver  and  save.  We  believe  in  a 
Divine  Savior,  able  to  forgive  sin  and  regen- 
erate our  natures,  save  to  the  uttermost;  a  God 
that  can  make  us,  can  remake  us.  We  believe 
in  a  Divine  Holy  Spirit,  able  to  convict  of  sin, 
of  righteousness  and  of  judgment,  to  witness 
to  pardon  and  purity,  to  call  to  the  ministry 
and  to  the  mission  field,  but  who  can  not  be 
used  as  an  errand  boy  for  indolent  saints.    We 

215 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

believe  in  a  Supernatural  Book,  and  are  not- 
afraid  of  science.  We  take  religion  to  pre- 
side in  the  home,  and  science  to  work  in  the 
culinary  department. 

When  Wesley  came  the  world  was  full  up 
to  the  rafters  with  old  smoke-dried  churches, 
that  barely  at  their  best  cherished  a  hope  of  a 
hope.  Sir  William  Blackstone,  the  great 
jurist,  after  hearing  all  the  noted  and  popular 
preachers  of  his  time,  the  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  said:  "There  is  no  more  gospel 
in  their  sermons  than  in  the  writings  of  Cicero. 
One  can  not  tell  by  their  statements  whether 
they  are  followers  of  Confucius,  Mohammed, 
or  Christ."  We  are  told  that  "six  under-grad- 
uates  of  Oxford  were  expelled  because  they 
prayed  extempore  and  read  the  Scriptures  in 
private  houses."  I  have  heard  of  no  law 
against  extempore  profanity  in  private  or  pub- 
lic houses.  John  Wesley  was  sent  out  to 
preach  a  knowable  religion,  that  a  man  might 
know  that  his  sins  are  forgiven.  There  is 
only  one  way  for  him  to  learn  that.  Pardon  is 
a  change  in  the  divine  mind  concerning  the 
sinner,  whereas  God  regarded  him  as  a  guilty 
sinner.  He  now  regards  him  as  a  pardoned 
sinner.  No  one  but  God  knows  this  change 
till  He  tells  it.       This  is  the  old  doctrine  of 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  When  we  get  a  sin- 
ner down  before  the  altar  we  do  not  tell  him 
that  his  sins  are  forgiven.  We  do  not  know. 
We  simply  hold  him  to  it  till  God  tells  him; 
then  the  sinner  knows  it.  This  is  the  power  of 
Methodism.  It  made  the  cobbler  and  the 
tinker  mightier  than  all  philosophers.  Butler 
uttered  his  analogy,  and  men  read  it  and 
laughed  and  scoffed  religion  out  of  polite  so- 
ciety. But  the  cobbler  said :  'T  know  that  God 
for  Christ's  sake  has  forgiven  my  sins.  His 
Spirit  witnesseth  with  my  spirit,  saying,  Abba, 
Father,"  and  this  upheaved  all  classes.  There 
was  no  gainsaying  the  testimony.  Our  great 
effort  is  to  hold  to  this  doctrine  that  called  us 
into  being,  and  see  to  it  that  our  people  keep 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  If  we  could  only  do 
this  with  all  our  members,  we  would  settle  all 
questions  about  the  second  blessing,  and  nearly 
all  questions  as  to  where  our  converts  would 
hold  their  membership,  and  we  would  double 
our  membership  every  three  years,  if  not  every 
year. 

We  believe  much  more,  which  time  for- 
bids my  repeating,  such  as  the  brotherhood  of 
man  without  reference  to  color,  and  that  there 
are  no  hard  cases  with  God.  We  believe  that 
a  man  has  a  right  to  be  fairly  tried  before  he 

217 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

is  shot,  hung,  or  burned.  We  believe  in  a 
government  that  can  protect  its  citizens  in  the 
swamps  of  Louisiana,  or  in  the  Havana  Har- 
bor, or  in  the  streets  of  Madrid,  or  anywhere 
on  the  earth,  even  at  all  costs.  We  also  be- 
lieve in  ourselves;  we  do  not  need  to  have 
any  one  tell  us  that  we  are  respectable  before 
we  can  be  happy.  We  are  so  much  like  our 
English  ancestors  that  we  believe  that  we  are 
the  lads  that  can  turn  the  world  right  side  up. 
Our  membership  is  2,851,531,  and  our 
Sunday-school  force  is  3,160,000.  We  have 
missions  on  every  continent  except  Australia. 
We  were  never  so  pressed  and  embarrassed  as 
now  by  our  successes  in  all  fields.  I  wish  your 
venerable  body  could  have  met  with  us  in  the 
last  meeting  of  our  Board  of  Bishops,  a  few 
days  before  I  sailed.  I  am  sure  you  would 
have  wept  and  shouted  with  us,  as  my  col- 
leagues, just  gathered  in  from  all  quarters  of 
the  earth,  told  what  their  eyes  had  seen  and 
their  ears  heard.  From  the  center  of  the  con- 
tinent, from  the  far  West,  from  Alaska,  from 
the  South,  from  everywhere,  came  shouts  of 
victory  and  calls  for  help  ;  Bishop  FitzGerald, 
from  Mexico,  showing  most  inviting  fields 
where  the  natives,  unsatisfied  by  a  dead  Rom- 
anism,   are    asking   for    the    gospel.      Bishop 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

Hartzell  gave  us  an  inspiring  view  of  Africa, 
of  the  old  fields  and  the  new,  of  his  journey- 
ings  on  the  trail  of  Bishop  Taylor,  that  most 
widely  traveling  missionary  in  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  Christian  Church,  and  of  the  fields 
opened  under  the  British  flag,  where  the 
ground  is  black  for  the  seed,  and  where  every 
effort  can  be  conserved.  Bishop  Joyce,  just  in 
from  a  two-years'  visitation  to  our  missions  in 
Japan,  Corea,  and  China,  reported  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  gospel.  He  applied  the  old- 
fashioned  methods  of  revival  work  and  found 
that  in  all  the  fields  where  the  Word  had  been 
spoken,  even  in  far-away  Sechuen,  eight 
weeks'  journey  up  the  Yangtze  beyond  Han- 
kow, there  was  abundant  opportunity  for  the 
mourners'  bench,  and  hundreds  sought  and 
found  pardon  shouting  and  weeping  and  re- 
joicing in  the  new  life.  Bishop  Foss  came  in 
with  the  news  from  India.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  this  field,  men  and  women  seeking 
God  by  the  hundreds,  by  the  thousands,  by 
the  village  full,  by  the  hundred  villages  full. 
Amazed  at  their  numbers,  he  was  more 
amazed  at  the  thoroughness  and  depth  of  their 
experience.  One  presiding  elder  stood  up 
and  begged  for  ^'holders  up,"  men  to  instruct 
the  converts,  to  read  the  Scriptures  to  them 

219 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  work  like  old-style  class  leaders.  This 
elder  said:  "I  have  over  thirteen  hundred  vil- 
lages on  my  district.  We  have  canvassed  the 
families  that  w^ant  to  be  received  and  baptized, 
but  I  can  not  take  them,  I  have  no  'holders  up.' 
Give  me  these  'holders  up,'  and  in  twelve 
months  I  can  have  over  forty-eight  thousand 
converts  by  actual  count  on  my  single  district." 
When  we  remembered  that  two  or  three  dol- 
lars a  month  would  support  one  of  these 
''holders  up,"  we  could  only  weep  and  ask 
God  to  raise  us  up  converted  money.  One 
brother,  Rev.  Dr.  Goucher,  to  whom  God 
has  entrusted  a  fortune,  planted  one  hundred 
and  thirty  schools  years  ago  in  India  and  has 
been  maintaining  them  with  small  outlay  for 
each.  Now  the  missionaries  trace  to  the 
teachers  and  readers  and  helpers  and  pupils 
raised  in  those  schools  over  twenty-seven  thou- 
sand conversions.  Brothers,  tell  me,  did 
money  ever  before  bring  so  higli  a  price,  and 
was  grace  ever  so  cheap?  If  only  our  well- 
to-do  members  could  see  this.  The  common 
day  laborer  could  bring  more  jewels  for  the 
Redeemer's  crown  than  the  prayerful,  earnest 
labors  of  our  great  metropolitan  preachers. 
God  stands  in  the  world's  market  offering  one 
hundred  per  cent  per  month  for  consecrated 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

money.  While  we  were  weeping  and  praying 
over  these  fields,  in  came  letters  from  Bishop 
Walden  in  Europe  and  from  Bishop  Warren 
in  South  America,  reporting  success  and  new 
fields,  pleading  for  men  and  money.  Brothers, 
it  seemed  as  if  all  the  great  lands  of  the 
earth  were  gathering  about  us,  lifting  their 
lofty  fronts  and  weaving  their  snowy  plumes  to 
catch  our  attention;  FitzGerald  calling  from 
the  Cordilleras;  Hartzell  calling  from  the 
Mountains  of  the  Moon ;  Joyce  from  the  Snow 
Mountains  of  Sechuen  of  far-ofT  West  China; 
Thoburn  far  from  the  towering  summits 
of  the  Himalayas;  Walden  from  the  peaks  of 
the  Alps,  and  Warren  from  the  lofty  passes 
of  the  Andes,  pleading  for  the  vast  continents 
with  their  teeming  millions.  As  I  had  per- 
sonally toiled  and  traveled  over  all  these  fields 
except  Africa,  the  conviction  put  on  personal 
form  as  it  did  once  at  Troas  with  Paul,  when 
Europe  stood  by  him  in  the  visions  of  the 
night,  saying:  "Come  over  into  Macedonia 
and  help  us."  I  wish  all  our  Methodism 
could  see  these  fields  and  hear  their  calls  for 
help.  I  am  sure  we  would  arise  and  put  on 
our  strength  and  go  forth  for  the  speedy  con- 
quest of  the  world  for  our  Redeemer.  For 
opportunity  is  God's  promise  of  power,  and  an 

221 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

open  door  is  God's  command  to  advance  and 
enter. 

I  fear  I  will  not  get  back  to  those  statistics. 
As  the  New  Testament  Church  was  strength- 
ened and  served  by  twelve  apostles,  so  our 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  strengthened 
and  served  by  twelve  apostles.  I  do  not  mean 
the  Bishops;  we  are  only  errand  boys,  permit- 
ted to  run  on  errands  for  our  Redeemer.  I 
mean  our  twelve  great  societies  or  defined 
lines  of  work.  I  will  name  them.  I  know  this 
is  dry,  but  do  not  shiver.  I  must  name  them. 
I  would  not  dare  go  home  if  I  should  omit 
these  important  auxiliaries. 

1.  There  is  the  Sunday-school,  which  is 
the  Artist  of  the  Church,  putting  the  impress 
upon  the  clay  before  it  is  burned.  It  has 
3,160,000  lumps  of  susceptibilities  now  re- 
ceiving the  Master's  image  and  superscription. 

2.  The  Missionary  Society,  which  is  the 
gymnasium  of  the  Church,  hardening  her  spir- 
itual muscles.  She  can  now  lift  an  annual  col- 
lection of  $1,131,940. 

3.  The  Book  Concern,  which  is  the  Body 
incarnating  the  Church,  giving  it  form  and 
local  habitation.  It  has  published  and  sold 
during  the  last  fifty  years,  since  the  division 

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TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONEERENCE 

caused  by  slavery,  over  $60,000,000  worth  of 
cheap  books  and  cheap  periodicals. 

4.  The  Church  Extension  Society,  which 
is  the  Hand,  open  and  pointing  out  which  way 
we  are  going.  Old  Maximus,  a  Roman  em- 
peror, was  captured  by  a  Goth  chief  and  held 
for  seven  years.  This  chief  used  his  prisoner 
as  a  horse  block,  making  him  stand  on  his 
hands  and  knees  for  him  to  stand  on  when 
mounting  his  horse.  He  would  teeter  up  and 
down,  saying:  ''This  will  tell  which  way  the 
battle  went,  better  than  all  the  pictures  the 
Roman  artists  can  paint."  The  Church  Ex- 
tension Society,  having  given  over  $3,000,000, 
loaned  and  reloaned  $16,000,000,  aided  10,000 
Churches,  and  now  building  three  churches  a 
day,  shows  which  way  the  battle  is  going  bet- 
ter than  all  the  pictures  which  the  skeptics  and 
destructive  critics  and  agnostics  can  paint. 

5.  TJie  Freedmens  Aid  and  Southern 
Education  Society,  whose  eloquent  secretary 
will  soon  address  you.  This  Society  is  the 
nurse  of  the  Church,  having  her  hands  now 
full  caring  for  9,000,000  of  wards,  and  in  one 
century  hence,  at  present  rate  of  increase,  she 
will  have  150,000,000  colored  people  on  the 
present  soil  of  the  Republic.  She  will  need 
to  multiply  her  47  colleges  and  schools,  her 

223 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

500  teachers,  her  10,000  pupils,  her  annual 
gift  of  over  $100,000,  and  her  $2,000,000 
worth  of  working  property.  This  nurse,  like 
other  nurses,  may  yet  tyrannize  the  household. 

6.  The  Educational  Society,  which  is  the 
Tutor,  is  as  important  to  a  growing  heir  as 
commas  and  pronouns  are  to  civilized  lan- 
guage. It  has  203  colleges  and  theological 
seminaries — 47,830  students,  $28,526,889  in 
property  and  endowments. 

7.  The  Woman  s  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, which  is  the  Intelligence  Office,  planted 
in  our  midst  by  the  Court  of  Heaven,  to  keep 
the  men  informed  concerning  God's  cam- 
paign, and  to  consecrate  their  money  ^'unbe- 
knownst" to  them.  The  five  senses  of  the  So- 
ciety are  intelligence,  economy,  industry,  con- 
secration, and  holy  zeal.  Like  most  women,  it 
has  a  sixth  sense,  the  sense  of  getting  there,  so 
testifies  the  $313,937  raised  and  the  60,000 
women  helped  in  all  lands  last  year. 

8.  The  Womans  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, which,  as  usual,  is  the  wisest,  the  best, 
the  most  Christ-like  of  all  the  family,  the 
Daughter  selected  to  remain  at  home,  who  or- 
ders the  servants,  cares  for  the  aged  parents, 
disciplines  the  grand-children,  and  maintains 
the  dignities  and  proprieties  of  the  family. 

224 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

She  is  the  one  character  without  whom  no 
family  ever  achieves  much  place  in  life.  She 
raised. last  year  $182,216. 

9.  The  Deaconess  Society,  which  is  tJie 
Woman  s  Exchange,  where  the  brain  and 
heart  and  muscle  of  the  unemployed  are 
coined  into  the  circulating  medium  of  heaven. 
Let  me  emphasize  the  brain,  for  these  dea- 
conesses are  nearly  all  educated.  They  are 
not  waiting  girls.  It  has  559  deaconesses  and 
owns  $257,775  worth  of  property. 

10.  The  Hospital  Board,  which  is  the 
New  Testament  Evangelist,  going,  like  the 
Master,  into  soul-healing  through  body-heal- 
ing. 

1 1.  Homes  for  Orphans  and  for  the  Aged, 
w^hich  are  the  Divine  Baskets,  gathering  up 
the  fragments  on  great  feast  days  that  nothing 
may  be  lost. 

12.  The  Epivorth  League,  which  is  the 
Volunteer  Army,  where  raw  recruits,  by  much 
drilling  and  some  skirmishing,  are  matured 
into  regular  soldiers  and  veterans,  who  ask  not 
for  the  number  of  the  enemy,  but  for  a  chance 
to  meet  them.  The  League,  with  its  1,650,000 
members,  is  to  the  Church  what  the  hind  legs 
are  to  the  kangaroo.  They  make  the  kangaroo 
jump,  but  remember  always  it  is  the  kangaroo 

15  225 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

that  jumps.  The  League  makes  the  Church 
go,  but  it  is  the  Church  that  goes.  The  League 
is  the  last  apostle  in  the  company,  somewhat 
like  Paul,  not  made  by  the  chance  of  casting 
lots  or  flipping  a  penny,  but  makes  its  own 
way,  defends  its  own  apostleship,  and,  like 
Paul,  if  we  can  get  the  scales  from  its  eyes, 
will  be  the  mightiest  apostle  in  the  company. 
We  must  glance  at  the  Overflow  of  Metho- 
dism. The  bungling  statistics  above  do  not 
measure  Methodism,  any  more  than  putting 
a  man's  brains  onto  the  scales  would  measure 
the  man.  These  figures  only  indicate  Metho- 
dism. As  we  come  to  your  great  Church  for 
our  experimental  religion,  so  w^e  come  to  your 
great  Church  and  land  for  units  of  measure. 
Green,  your  great  historian  of  the  English 
people,  tells  us  of  Pitt's  defects,  distresses,  and 
source  of  power.  In  one  decade  by  the  sword 
of  Clive  he  recaptured  India;  with  money 
poured  into  the  coffers  of  Frederick  and  sol- 
diers poured  into  his  legions  he  checked  the 
game  in  Europe,  saving  Germany,  and  by  the 
sword  of  Wolfe  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham 
he  took  the  dominion  of  the  St.  Lawrence  for 
England  and  drove  the  French  out  of  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  saving  that  continent 
for  better  uses.    Now  Green  tells  us  that,  but 

226 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

for  the  moral  reformation  wrought  by  John 
Wesley  and  his  followers,  Pitt  would  have  had 
nothing  upon  which  to  stand  and  would  have 
been  helpless  in  the  great  strife  of  modern 
times.  But  the  moral  conviction  of  the  Eng- 
lish people  made  a  sure  foundation  for  Pitt 
and  enabled  him  to  save  the  three  hundred 
millions  of  India,  making  the  Indian  Empire 
English  instead  of  French,  Protestant  instead 
of  Catholic,  also  to  protect  Frederick  the 
Great  and  make  possible  the  German  Empire, 
and  to  keep  the  Continent  of  North  America 
for  a  Free  Republic.  These  three  Protestant 
nations  are  magnificent  trophies  for  the  little 
man  of  Epworth.  These  indicate  some  of  the 
overflow  of  Methodism  beyond  the  statistics 
in  this  country  and  in  the  world. 

So  with  us  Methodism  has  a  vast  residuum 
of  power  never  gathered  in  her  statistics.  She 
has  fought  a  winning  battle  against  the  five 
points  of  Calvinism  till  now  those  tenets  are 
being  trundled  out  of  the  back  door  as  rapidly 
as  possible  and  the  communicants  of  all  the 
orthodox  Churches  talk  of  the  day  when  God 
for  Christ's  sake  forgave  their  sins.  That  is 
Methodism,  no  secret  decree  about  that;  it 
has  run  over  out  of  the  Methodist  cup  into 
other  cups,  but  it  is  Methodism.    It  is  not  too 

227 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

much  to  say  that  a  large  per  cent  of  the  com- 
municants in  other  orthodox  Churches  were 
converted  at  Methodist  altars,  and  but  for  this 
reinforcement  of  life  and  power  most  of  those 
Churches  would  have  been  dead  and  plucked 
up  by  the  roots.  I  sat  one  day  in  the  pulpit 
of  the  leading,  the  most  widely  known  and 
honored  preacher  in  America.  I  had  sup- 
plied his  pulpit  two  summers  and  knew  his 
people  well,  though  of  another  denomination. 
He  received  that  day  nine  persons  by  letter 
and  five  of  the  letters  were  from  Methodist 
Churches.  He  turned  round  to  me  and  said: 
"You  see  what  we  are  doing."  I  said :  ''No, 
sir,  you  see  what  we  are  doing.  You  do  not 
know  whether  you  have  gained  a  horse  or  lost 
a  buggy.  You  dare  not  read  your  old  West- 
minster Catechism  here.  It  would  blow  the 
roof  ofif  from  your  church."  A  little  shimmer 
of  approval  and  a  wave  of  applause  went  over 
the  congregation.  Methodism  has  given  new 
life  to  all  the  Churches,  and  I  thank  God  that 
they  have  been  so  blessed. 

Methodism  born  with  the  Republic  has 
taken  the  State  by  the  hand  and  has  kept  even 
step  with  her.  Mr.  Lincoln  said:  ''It  was 
not  the  fault  of  the  other  Churches  that  the 
Methodist  Church  sent  more  soldiers  to  the 

228 


TO  BRlTlSfi  WEST.KYAN  CONFERENCE 

field,  more  nurses  to  the  hospitals,  and  more 
prayers  to  heaven  than  any  other."  We  re- 
member with  sad  and  grateful  pride  that  every 
fifth  grave  that  made  the  Southland  billowy- 
like  the  sea  was  filled  with  a  communicant  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  "Those 
low  green  tents  whose  curtains  never  outward 
swing,"  represent  Methodist  patriotism  and 
valor.  So  it  seems  to  us  only  natural  that  we 
should  send  families  to  the  White  House, 
Grant  and  Hayes,  and  that  we  have  to-day  a 
Methodist  communicant  in  President  McKin- 
ley.  We  have  no  anxiety  about  his  forgetting 
God. 

We  keep  out  of  politics,  but  our  members 
take  all  phases  of  the  disease  and  belong  to 
ail  parties.  The  Arab  says,  "Give  a  horse  two 
sweats,  then  ask  anything  of  him  in  the  third 
sweat."  We  have  the  third  sweat  now  in  poli- 
tics. The  first  that  would  fire  a  Methodist 
Conference  was  Romanism.  The  second  was 
Slavery.  The  third  is  Temperance.  We  are 
teetotalers  in  practice,  and  prohibitionists  in 
conviction.  The  General  Conference  ex- 
pressed the  sentiment  of  the  people  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  every  man  seeks  his  own  way  of  ap- 
plying the  doctrine.    The  overflow  of  Metho- 


229 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

dism  in  our  land  is  felt  everywhere,  from  the 
school-room  to  the  White  House. 

It  is  no  insignificant  part  of  the  work  of 
Methodism  that  it  furnishes  the  most  vital  and 
crowning  element  in  building  a  nation  and  a 
civilization.  Many  elements  are  involved, 
but  the  development  and  dissemination  of  per- 
sonal kinship  and  fellowship  with  God  are 
absolutely  essential  to  the  widest  liberty  and 
most  exalted  character.  Study  the  processes 
by  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  been 
brought  on  and  up  to  power.  Away  back  in 
traditional  ages  the  Gaels  occupied  these 
lands.  Then  there  came  over  the  Cambrians 
from  the  eastern  extremities  of  Europe,  and 
drove  the  Gaels  back  into  the  mountains  of 
Scotland  and  over  into  green  Erin,  and  made 
for  themselves  homes.  About  five  hundred 
years  later  came  the  Logrians  from  the  south- 
western coast  of  Gaul,  drove  back  the  Cam- 
brians and  the  remnants  of  the  Gaels,  made  a 
landing  in  the  south  and  west  of  the  island, 
and  established  themselves.  Five  hundred 
years  later  came  the  Britons  from  the  banks  of 
the  Seine  and  the  Loire,  drove  back  the  Log- 
rians and  the  Cambrians  and  the  Gaels,  and 
mingling  with  them,  made  a  landing.  Five 
hundred  years  later  came  the  Romans,  under 

230 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

Caesar,  and  drove  back  the  Britons  and  the 
Cambrians  and  Logrians  and  the  Gaels,  and 
overran  these  lands.  Five  hundred  years  later 
came  the  Saxons,  "men  with  long  knives," 
from  the  marshes  of  the  Elbe,  and  slowly  and 
certainly  made  their  way.  About  one  hun- 
dred 3^ears  later  came  the  Angles  from  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic,  and  struggled  fiercely  for 
their  standing  on  the  island.  Four  or  Hve 
hundred  years  later  came  the  Normans  under 
William  the  Conqueror,  and  fought  their  way 
up  to  dominion.  Thus  there  has  come  one 
people  after  another,  one  layer  after  another, 
warring,  struggling,  surging,  fighting,  sweep- 
ing over  the  land  from  shore  to  shore,  with 
sword  and  fagot,  baptizing  every  blade  of 
grass  with  the  blood  of  their  heroes,  paving 
the  island  with  the  bodies  of  their  warriors, 
mingling  their  blood  in  their  streams  and  in 
their  veins,  till  there  has  been  produced  the 
most  virile  race  on  the  earth.  Touched  in  this 
last  century  and  a  half  with  the  spirit  of  per- 
sonal kinship  and  fellowship  with  God,  these 
English-speaking  peoples  have  arisen  to  the 
highest  civilization  known  among  men,  and 
marching  with  the  swing  of  conquest  they 
walk  over  the  earth  as  if  they  owned  it.  Like 
chivalrous  knights  of  High  Heaven  they  feel 

231 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

called  upon  to  right  the  great  wrongs,  to  de- 
fend the  helpless,  lift  up  the  poor  and  estab- 
lish prosperous  peace  or  know  the  reason  why. 

Sometimes  this  elevating  work  seems  so 
slow  and  so  long  that  men  doubt  whether  the 
Anglo-Saxon  is  helping  or  robbing.  But  the 
Anglo-Saxon  seldom,  if  ever,  turns  back  when 
once  he  has  set  himself  at  a  task,  no  matter 
how  poor  or  how  dark  the  clay.  If  the  poor 
fellow  will  live  and  not  die,  work  and  not 
faint,  the  Saxon  will  put  him  on  his  feet, 
strengthen  his  knees,  lift  up  his  chin,  open  his 
eyes,  give  him  a  family,  a  home,  a  castle,  a 
flag,  and  a  country  for  this  world,  and  set  him 
up  in  business  for  the  next  world,  with  a  faith, 
a  soul,  and  a  God.  The  biped  is  worth  more 
in  commerce  when  he  is  thus  enlarged  and 
set  up.  As  a  lump  of  pagan  mud  his  trade  is 
worth  one  dollar  a  year;  when  the  Saxon  has 
set  him  up  in  business  he  is  worth  fifty  dollars 
a  year.  It  may  be  the  Saxon  sees  this;  never- 
theless the  poor  man  is  elevated  and  endowed, 
is  set  up. 

Kipling  caught  the  spirit  when  he  wrote: 

"Said  England  unto  Pharaoh,  'I  must  make  a  man  of  you: 

That  will  stand  upon  his  feet  and  play  the  game; 

That  will  Maxim  his  oppressor  as  a  Christian  oughtto  do/ 

And  she  sent  old  Pharaoh  Sergeant  Whatisname. 

232 


TO  BRITISH  WKSl.KYAN  CONFERENCE 

"Said  England  unto   Pharoah,  '  Tho'  at   present  singing 
small, 
You  shall  have  a  proper  tune  before  it  ends,' 
And  she  introduced  old  Pharaoh  to  the  Sergeant  once 
for  all, 
And  left  them  in  the  desert  making  friends. 

It  was  not  a  Crystal  Palace  nor  Cathedral, 
It  was  not  a  public  house  of  common  fame, 

But  a  piece  of  red-hot  sand,  with  a  palm  on  either  hand. 
And  a  little  hut  for  Sergeant  Whatisname. 

"  It  was  wicked  bad  campaigning  (cheap  and  nasty  from 
the  first) 
There  was  heat  and  dust  and  coolie  work  and  sun, 
There  were   vipers,   flies   and    sandstorms,   there    was 
cholera  and  thirst, 
But  Pharaoh  done  the  best  he  ever  done. 

"  Down  the  desert,  down  the  railway,  down  the  river. 
Like  the  Israelites  from  bondage  so  he  came, 
'Tween  the  cloud   o'   dust  and  fire  to  the  land  of  his 
desire, 
And  his  Moses,  it  was  Sergeant  Whatisname !  " 

The  Anglo-Saxon  integrity,  which  is 
stronger  than  Anglo-Saxon  greed  of  land,  and 
the  Anglo-Saxon  moral  sense,  which  is  deeper 
than  Anglo-Saxon  passion  for  power,  is  the 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire 
by  night,  in  which  the  God  of  Providence 
dwells,  that  is  guiding  the  fugitives  from  all 
despotisms  to  the  Promised  Land. 

233 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Wandering  over  the  Far  East,  nothing 
comforted  me  more  than  the  sight  of  the  Eng- 
lish flag.  I  felt  the  grip  of  Anglo-Saxon  in- 
tegrity. The  flag  represented  the  most  stable 
government  and  most  varied  administration 
ever  yet  tested  by  history.  It  represented  that 
astute  statesmanship  that  keeps  the  end  sought 
always  superior  to  the  means  used,  and  varies 
the  fashion  of  the  administration  to  fit  down 
upon  the  human  topography  of  every  island 
and  peninsula.  It  seems  sometimes  like  a 
world-embracing  octopus,  with  its  head  upon 
the  cliffs  of  England  and  its  long  arms  reach- 
ing everywhere,  drawing  the  peoples  and  races 
up  out  of  heathenism  and  out  of  slavery  and 
out  of  poverty,  up  into  prosperity  and  into 
liberty  and  into  civilization.  I  felt,  while  un- 
der the  Union  Jack,  absolutely  safe.  If  any 
one  harmed  a  hair  of  my  head  a  British  war- 
ship would  push  an  interrogation  mark  un- 
der their  eyes,  and  they  must  answer  or  do 
worse.  I  am  looking  at  you  out  of  straight, 
honest,  American  eyes,  and  talking  out  of  a 
loyal  American  heart,  uttering  not  one  senti- 
ment which  I  have  not  uttered  at  home.  I 
would  despise  myself  more  for  lying  to  you 
than  for  lying  against  you.  The  Stars  and 
Stripes  have  never  been  much  in  the  Far  East. 

234 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONEERENCE 

Whatever  we  have  done  there  in  our  mission 
fields  has  been  chiefly  because  the  Union  Jack 
has  made  it  possible.  We  have  staid  in  those 
Western  waters,  and  expected  to  stay  there 
forever.  But  the  other  day  Spain  exploded  a 
magazine  under  our  prow  and  blew  us  up  into 
our  world-wide  mission.  I  now  hope  for  the 
time  when  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  the  Union 
Jack,  side  by  side,  shall  make  every  yard  of 
water  and  every  acre  of  land  safe  for  prayer 
or  for  trade.  That  nation  of  assassins,  of  ship 
scuttlers,  of  poisoners  of  wells,  and  of  murder- 
ers of  women  and  butchers  of  babes — Spain — 
calls  us  Yankee  Pigs  and  you  English  Hogs; 
maybe  we  will  soon  be  all  hogs.  They  may 
find  us  to  be  the  watch-dogs  of  the  world. 

The  soft,  sleek,  smiling  races,  who  had 
rather  lie  than  tell  the  truth,  even  when  there 
is  no  motive  for  lying,  who  lie  even  to  them- 
selves for  the  fun  of  being  deceived,  say  that 
these  Anglo-Saxon,  English-speaking  people, 
are  bad  neighbors.  They  say  the  Saxon  is 
the  robber  of  the  races.  The  Saxon  is  the 
butcher  of  mankind.  True,  our  blood  has  a 
rough,  hard  record  on  the  surface.  The  first 
clear  vision  of  the  Saxon,  as  he  sails  into  the 
light  of  modern  history,  is  yonder  on  the 
North  Sea,  standing  on  a  slippery  deck  and 

235 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

waving  a  bloody  cutlas.  He  was  a  pirate. 
Somebody  gave  him  a  New  Testament.  He 
got  religion  and  was  baptized,  and  ever  since 
then  he  has  seemed  to  be  a  baptized  pirate.  It 
matters  not  which  branch  of  the  family  you 
study,  this  great  branch  on  the  islands  and  on 
the  sea,  or  that  other  equally  great  branch  on 
yonder  continent  in  the  act  of  going  to  sea. 
The  record  is  about  equally  rough.  Take  this 
branch;  no,  you  know  your  own  record  better 
than  I  do.  Take  our  branch.  We  have  met 
three  races,  and  what  have  we  done  with 
them?  We  met  the  Indian,  and  he  would  not 
work  for  us,  so  we  killed  him  and  took  his 
pony,  and  his  scalp,  and  his  land.  Then  we 
sang  the  long  meter  doxology.  When  we 
landed  on  Plymouth  Rock,  first  we  dropped 
on  our  knees,  and,  second,  we  dropped  on  the 
aborigines.  Next  we  met  the  African,  and  he 
would  work  for  us,  and  we  enslaved  him. 
Now  we  have  met  the  Chinaman,  and  we  do 
not  know  what  to  do  with  him.  He  will  work 
for  us,  so  we  do  not  want  to  kill  him.  But  he 
will  not  become  our  slave,  so  we  do  not  want 
to  not  kill  him.  We  tried  it;  that  is,  our  blood 
tried  it  yonder  in  the  islands.  We  pushed 
him,  and  he  yielded  till  he  reached  the  point 
where  to  yield  again  was  to  become  a  bond- 

236 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

man ;  then  he  slew  his  overseer.  Then  the 
overseeing  business  became  unpopular.  Then 
we  called  out  the  police  and  the  soldiers,  and 
when  we  cornered  him  he  broke  jail  and  went 
out  into  the  infinite  liberties  where  our  police 
are  very  slow  about  following  him.  All  this 
seems  to  be  a  hard  record.  But  this  ought  in 
all  fairness  also  to  be  said:  we  have  never 
robbed  a  people  without  making  them  richer 
than  they  were  before  we  robbed  them.  We 
have  never  subjugated  a  people  without  mak- 
ing them  nobler  than  they  were  before  we  sub- 
jugated them,  and  we  have  never  enslaved  a 
people  without  making  them  freer  than  they 
were  before  we  enslaved  them.  For,  taking 
the  ages  through  and  the  world  around,  there 
can  be  found  nowhere  else  such  liberties  as 
are  found  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  the 
Union  Jack. 

Brothers,  I  see  more  in  this  federation  of 
English-speaking  peoples  than  the  strutting 
of  our  proud  police  of  the  seas,  and  the  bark- 
ing of  our  war-dogs.  I  see  rather  the  better 
chance  for  perpetual  peace,  and  the  growth  of 
the  gentler  virtues.  I  hate  war.  When  war 
makes  murder  and  arson  and  theft  and  lying 
virtues,  then  the  common  virtues,  such  as  for- 
giveness, honesty,  mercy,  and  integrity,  do  not 

237 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

thrive.  War  is  tolerable  only  as  a  peace 
measure.  I  once  asked  General  Grant:  "On 
what  do  you  depend  most  for  your  kindly  re- 
membrance among  men  for  your  fame?"  I 
was  wondering  which  of  his  campaigns  or 
battles  he  thought  greatest.  He  had  the  long- 
est list  of  great  battles  and  uninterrupted  vic- 
tories, with  the  greatest  armies  and  greatest 
hosts  of  prisoners  of  the  best  fighting  race 
known  to  history  to  choose  from.  I  wondered 
whether  he  would  mention  the  Vicksburg 
campaign,  or  the  Chattanooga  campaign,  or 
the  Virginia  campaign.  This  most  successful 
warrior  took  the  breath  out  of  me  by  answer- 
ing, promptly:  "The  Treaty  of  Washington, 
by  which  we  settled  by  arbitration  the  Ala- 
bama claims  with  Great  Britain  without  an 
appeal  to  the  sword."  Then  he  added:  "Al- 
ready England  and  the  United  States  are  suf- 
ficiently advanced  to  settle  their  disputes  by 
arbitration ;  soon  two  or  three  of  the  other 
great  powers  will  come  up  to  the  same  level. 
Then  these  great  nations  will  not  allow  the 
others  to  fight."  He  had  so  much  of  the  ken 
of  the  statesman  and  of  the  vision  of  the 
prophet  that  he  saw  approaching  as  he  added: 
"That  time  when  wars  and  warriors  would  be 
forgotten    and    the    Treaty    of    Washington 

238 


TO  BRITISH  wesli:yan  confp:rence 

would  stand  as  the  first  great  Arbitration 
treaty  settling  most  difficult  and  aggravated 
claims."  I  see  in  such  a  federation  of  Eng- 
lish-speaking people  a  run  into  the  sunrise  of 
the  future. 

I  remember  a  case  illustrating  the  power 
of  such  an  alliance.  An  American  sailor 
landed  in  a  seaport  of  one  of  the  Republics  of 
South  America.  In  old-time  fashion  he  filled 
up  with  bad  spirit.  An  officer  undertook  in 
a  rough  way  to  arrest  him,  and  Jack  struck 
the  little  officer.  The  penalty  was  death.  The 
American  Consul  protested  that  the  man  was 
intoxicated,  and  the  offense  meant  nothing. 
But  the  little  government  went  ahead  and  sen- 
A  tenced  the  poor  tar  to  be  shot.  The  American 
and  English  Consuls  consulted.  But  the  hour 
was  fixed  for  the  execution  and  the  man  was 
marched  out.  The  English  Consul  said: 
"Take  your  flag  quick,  and  I  will  take  mine." 
Together  they  ran  to  the  execution  square. 
The  sailor  was  placed  against  a  dead  wall  and 
a  file  of  soldiers  were  drawn  up  ready  to  fire, 
when  the  two  Consuls  stepped  forward  and 
wrapped  the  Union  Jack  and  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  about  the  poor  fellow  and  said  to  the 
little  government:  "Fire,  and  you  will  take  the 
consequences."     The  order  was  given  to  the 

239 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

squad:  ''About  face,  march!"  And  the  sailor 
was  sent  back  to  his  ship.  The  time  is  coming 
when  these  two  flags  floating  over  a  sea  or 
over  a  continent  will  make  it  impossible  for 
a  gun  to  throw  a  bullet  beyond  its  muzzle,  or 
for  a  soldier  to  lift  his  foot  unless  the  order  is 
given  in  the  English  tongue. 

There  may  be  some  dark  hours  before  that 
sun  rises.  We  may  have  to  illustrate  w^hat  we 
can  do  together.  We  have  shown  our  motion 
running  singly.  But  you  know  sometimes  two 
fast  horses  running  together  bite  each  other's 
necks  or  kick  over  the  pole.  Bismarck 
prophesies  we  will  do  that.  Maybe  the  wish 
is  father  of  the  prophecy.  But  if  the  other  na- 
tions give  us  something  else  to  do,  we  will 
soon  run  together  like  twins  and  will  show 
them  a  speed  that  will  make  ''all  the  world 
wonder." 

In  the  old  strife  against  the  slave  trade  in 
your  own  country,  for  a  time  Wilberforce  was 
alone.  He  had  but  one  friend.  Dr.  Lushing- 
ton.  One  day  he  said  to  Dr.  Lushington: 
"There  is  no  one  to  stand  by  me  in  the  house 
except  you.  So  when  you  make  a  speech  I 
shall  cheer  you,  and  you  take  care  that  when 
I  get  up  to  make  a  speech  you  cheer  me." 
Thus  they  braced  up  each  other's  spirits.    This 

240 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

may  be  good  doctrine  for  us  to  practice  back 
and  forth  across  the  Atlantic. 

Alfred  Austin  has  shown  his  right  to  the 
chair  of  Alfred  Tennyson,  in  his  recent 

Cry  of  Kinship. 

What  is  the  voice  I  hear, 

On  the  wind  of  a  western  sea  ? 
Sentinel,  listen  from  out  Cape  Clear, 

And  say  what  the  voice  may  be. 

'Tis   a    proud   free   people   calling  loud  to  a 
people  proud  and  free. 

And  it  says  to  them,  ""  Kinsman,  hail  ! 

We  severed  have  been  too  long; 
Now  let  us  have  done  with  a  worn-out  tale 

The  tale  of  an  ancient  wrong. 

And  our  friendship  last  long  as  love  doth  last, 
and  be  stronger  than  death  is  strong." 

Answer  them,  sons  of  the  selfsame  race. 

And  blood  of  the  selfsame  clan. 
Let  us  speak  with  each  other,  face  to  face. 

And  answer  as  man  to  man, 

And  loyally  love  and  trust  each  other  as  none 
but  free  men  can. 

Now  fling  them  out  to  the  breeze, 

Shamrock,  thistle,  and  rose. 
And  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  unfurl  with  these 

A  message  to  friends  and  foes, 

Wherever    the   sails   of    peace   are   seen   and 
wherever  the  war  wind  blows. 
i6  241 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

A  message  to  bond  and  thrall  to  wake, 
For  wherever  we  come,  we  twain. 

The  throne  of  the  tyrant  shall  rock  and  quake. 
And  his  menace  be  void  and  vain, 
For  you  are  lords  of  a  strong  young  land,  and 
we  are  lords  of  the  main. 

Yes,  this  is  the  voice  on  the  bluff  March  gale: 

"We  severed  have  been  too  long; 
But  now  we  have  done  with  a  worn-out  tale, 

The  tale  of  an  ancient  wrong, 

And  our  friendship  last  long  as  love  doth  last 
and  be  stronger  than  death  is  strong." 

Brothers,  I  am  not  outside  the  facts  of  his- 
tory when  I  say  that  the  Spirit  which  God 
poured  into  the  world  through  the  lips,  labor, 
and  life  of  John  Wesley  has  quickened  this 
Anglo-Saxon  people  into  power.  This  is 
the  secret  why  these  people  are  so  free, 
fearless,  and  loyal.  Germany  accepted  Prot- 
estantism about  the  same  time  that  England 
did.  Two  and  a  half  centuries  later  England 
and  America  received  the  new  life  from  Ep- 
worth  that  quickened  into  life  her  formal 
Churches  and  moral  sense.  This  century  of 
gospel  preaching  has  lifted  both  these  nations 
into  personal  responsibility.  Had  some  Wes- 
ley arisen  in  Germany  when  John  Wesley 
arose  in  England,  or  had  some  Asbury  been 

242 


TO  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE 

sent  to  Germany  when  Francis  Asbury  was 
sent  to  America,  we  should  not  hear  to-day  the 
humiliating  statement  that  William  sends  his 
budget  to  the  Vatican  to  have  it  approved  be- 
fore he  presents  it  in  his  Reichstag. 

Who  can  measure  our  responsibility?  A 
visitor  asked  the  keeper  of  the  light  at  Calais: 
"Does  your  light  ever  grow  dim  or  go  out?" 
''Grow  dim  or  go  out?"  said  the  astonished 
watchman,  startled  at  the  very  suggestion. 
"Why,  man,  there  are  ships  yonder  at  sea,  in 
the  darkness.  If  this  light  should  grow  dim 
or  go  out,  they  might  go  upon  the  breakers." 
We  are  the  lighthouse  of  these  ages.  If  our 
lights  grow  dim  or  go  out,  the  nations 
freighted  with  the  liberties  and  destinies  of 
millions  and  of  generations  to  come  might  go 
upon  the  breakers.  Our  only  safety  is  in  close 
personal  walk  with  God,  in  walking  with 
God  as  our  fathers  did,  keeping  ourselves  per- 
sonally in  such  fellowship  that  we  can  detect 
the  least  approach  of  sin  and  hear  the  slightest 
prompting  of  the  Spirit  and  receive  constantly 
new  supplies  of  spiritual  power.  The  same 
heroic  devotion  that  made  our  fathers  win  in 
the  nineteenth  century  will  make  us  win  in 
the  twentieth. 


243 


THE  UNIVERSITY 


Delivered  at  Evanston,  Illinois,  June  26,  1873,  when  Dr. 

Fowler  was  formally  inaugurated  President 

of  Northwestern  University 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

Time-honored  custom  requires  of  me,  as 
I  stand  this  hour  upon  the  threshold  of  this 
vast  enterprise,  some  statement  of  views  con- 
cerning the  work  here  undertaken.  It  be- 
comes us  to  leave  boasting  to  him  that  taketh 
off  the  armor,  yet  in  putting  on  the  armor  it 
also  becomes  us  to  spy  out  the  land — measur- 
ing the  giants  and  counting  the  cities  which 
the  Lord,  the  Church,  and  the  public  judg- 
ment expect  us  to  possess.  Ah  institution  in 
a  community,  that  is  to  occupy  the  time  and 
thought  of  scores  of  cultivated  laborers,  to 
control  capital  by  the  millions  and  expend  its 
income  by  the  hundred  thousands,  to  build  its 
walls  for  the  centuries  and  plan  its  campaigns 
by  the  thousand  years,  to  furnish  a  home  for 
multitudes  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
land  in  a  critical  time  of  their  life  and  furnish 
character  for  scholars  and  scientists,  preach- 
ers and  philologists,  physicians  and  philoso- 
phers, jurists  and  statesmen — an  institution 
thus  purposed  and  intrusted  has  a  right  to  the 
public  ear. 

247 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Inducted  by  you  into  this  honorable  and 
responsible  calling  and  office,  and  for  the  hour 
poised  between  the  right  of  the  public  to  hear 
and  the  right  of  the  university  to  speak,  I  will 
sketch  some  of  the  reasons  justifying  the  exist- 
ence of  the  university — some  outlines  of  her 
work,  some  of  the  agencies  and  appliances  by 
which  she  seeks  to  meet  her  obligations,  some 
of  the  results  accomplished  and  some  of  the 
demands  of  the  pressing  future. 

I.  Reasons  for  the  Existence  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 

I.  By  way  of  approach  to  this  subject  it 
may  safely  be  affirmed  that  universities  are 
the  fruit  of  advanced  civilization.  Like  ab- 
stract terms  in  a  language,  they  imply  much 
antecedent  cultivation. 

It  is  a  long  journey  from  the  Digger  In- 
dian taking  his  breakfast  from  an  ant's  nest 
with  a  sharp  stick,  up  to  the  Christian  philan- 
thropist founding  and  maintaining  a  univer- 
sity. We  ascend  by  many  shining  steps  from 
savagery  to  the  age  of  the  earliest  universities. 
But  for  the  inspiration  and  guidance  of  the 
great  schoolmasters,  Thales,  Anaxagoras,  De- 
mocritus,  Pythagoras,  and  Zeno  the  Elean,  we 
had  never  wandered  with  the  unsandaled  Soc- 

248 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

rates,  or  lounged  in  the  academy  with  Plato, 
or  contended  in  the  lyceum  with  the  subtile 
and  resistless  Aristotle.  The  great  schools  are 
the  growth  of  centuries.  In  raising  them  from 
the  seed  there  is  no  short  cut  to  maturity,  but 
we  may  transplant  or  engraft  and  so  condense 
the  work  of  the  ages  into  a  few  generations. 
We  took  all  the  experiences  and  histories  and 
theologies  and  literatures  of  England  and 
Europe,  and  planted  them  in  our  new-world 
soil.  The  dews  of  a  single  night  falling  upon 
them  gave  us  a  rich  civilization.  So  we  can 
take  the  scholarship  of  the  old  empires  and 
the  faith  and  activity  of  the  new  republic  and 
hasten  with  them  into  the  public  squares  to 
find  the  great  institutions  there  before  us. 
They  seem  the  growth  of  an  hour,  but  they 
trace  their  pedigree  through  many  centuries. 
Like  great  ideas,  they  must  make  a  footing  in 
the  public  conviction  before  they  can  become 
great  centers  of  power.  Some  education,  low 
in  degree  and  narrow  in  extent  it  may  be,  per- 
tains to  intelligent  existence.  The  knowledge 
of  the  simplest  industries  is  within  the  com- 
mon reach.  Fishing  and  hunting  with  the 
simplest  devices;  agriculture  with  the  crudest 
implements;  architecture  limited  to  the  con- 
struction of  wigwams  and  tents;  navigation 

249 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

conducted  on  bark  and  skins — all  these  make 
up  a  part  of  education.  It  is  only  the  founda- 
tion, but  it  is  something.  This  becomes  the 
common  property  by  being  a  common  neces- 
sity. Widening  horizons,  extending  com- 
merce, contact  with  other  neighborhoods, 
varied  experience,  wars,  dense  populations, 
general  interests  elevate  the  scholarship.  Then 
the  front  rank  can  be  reached  and  held  not  by 
cunning  but  by  patient  calculation.  Organ- 
ized and  premeditated  education  is  then  a 
fact.  Elementary  knowledge  perpetuates  it- 
self as  it  is  forced  into  existence  by  the  solu- 
tion of  the  universal  problems  of  bread  and 
raiment.  It  descends  from  father  to  son  with 
a  certainty  of  existence.  Higher  knowledge 
comes  through  two  channels:  first  spasmodic- 
ally, by  gifted  souls,  prophets,  poets,  philoso- 
phers, or  great  thinkers.  These  come  one  or 
two  in  five  or  ten  centuries  as  samples  of  the 
coming  generations.  They  let  the  light  down 
into  the  lower  levels  and  set  them  on  strug- 
gling up  toward  the  larger  measure.  Second, 
persistently,  by  the  wise  appointments  of  or- 
ganized, systematized,  far-reaching  educa- 
tional plans  that  mature  into  great  institutions. 
The  germs  of  these  in  different  stages  of 
development  are  found  among  all  thoughtful 

250 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

peoples.  The  light  from  the  East  comes  down 
to  us  in  feeble  and  broken  rays,  yet  strong 
enough  and  clear  enough  to  indicate  that  the 
races  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas  and  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges  had  some  great  institu- 
tions before  Jacob  went  down  into  the  land  of 
the  Nile,  or  Abraham  received  the  covenant. 
For  these  races  had  mathematics,  and  astrono- 
mies, and  philosophies,  and  theologies,  and 
literatures  probably  centuries  before  Cadmus 
brought  the  fifteen  fragments  of  Phoenician 
and  Assyrian  characters  into  Greece,  which  in 
the  next  thousand  years  were  built  into  the 
perfect  alphabet  and  the  wonderful  literature. 
The  Hebrew  law-giver  was  trained  in  the 
schools  of  the  priests  of  the  sun  in  Heliopolis 
six  hundred  years  before  blind  old  Homer, 
wandering  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, sang  of  Hector  and  Achilles.  The  com- 
pass of  this  Egyptian  instruction  is  indicated 
with  some  uncertainty  indeed,  but  indicated, 
by  the  fact  that  Moses  is  said  by  tradition,  ac- 
cording to  Manetho,  to  have  attained  great 
proficiency  and  to  have  made  discoveries  in 
navigation,  hydraulics,  hieroglyphics,  gram- 
mar, music,  war,  astronorriy,  surveying,  politi- 
cal economy,  linguistics,  histories,  and  theol- 
ogy.   He  studied  botany  on  Horeb's  side,  and 

251 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

geology  on  the  summit  of  Sinai,  and  social 
science  in  the  wilderness.  This  was  twelve 
hundred  years  before  the  Museum  at  Alexan- 
dria, the  oldest  State  university  in  the  world, 
had  a  manuscript,  or  a  student,  or  a  professor, 
or  a  foundation-stone.  This  school  at  Alex- 
andria, in  Egyptian  soil,  but  made  out  of  the 
most  splendid  results  of  Greek  genius  and  cul- 
ture, was  crowded  with  chairs  in  all  the 
known  languages  and  literatures  and  philoso- 
phies of  the  world,  from  Phoenicia  to  India, 
from  ^Ethiopia  to  Rome.  Here  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  broke  out  of  the  sacred  language 
into  the  tongue  of  the  Greek,  three  centuries 
before  Paul  preached  the  risen  Messiah  on 
Mars'  Hill;  and  this  center  furnished  scholars 
for  the  early  Church  till  nearly  all  European 
knowledge  was  consecrated  to  the  cross.  We 
have  only  to  open  our  eyes  on  the  past  or  the 
present,  on  the  old  world  or  the  new,  to  see 
that  the  great  centers  of  learning  are  centers 
of  civilization;  and  we  soon  feel  that. 

2.  Universities  are  essential  to  civilization. 
It  may  be  claimed  that  Athens  reached  her 
glory  without  such  instrumentalities.  But 
then,  Athens  herself  was  little  less  than  a  uni- 
versity; her  youth  were  kept  in  the  society  of 
her  scholars  and  statesmen,  her  philosophers 

252 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

and  warriors.  There  is  not,  nor  has  there 
been,  a  university  under  the  sun  which  would 
not  be  honored  to  count  among  her  professors 
such  minds  as  Aristotle,  and  Plato,  and  Soc- 
rates. In  her  marts  and  along  her  streets  her 
youth  were  taught  philosophy  by  these  great 
schoolmasters  of  mankind.  Along  her  docks 
they  were  taught  navigation,  commerce,  and 
naval  war.  In  her  streets  they  were  trained 
to  the  highest  taste  in  architecture.  In  her 
temples  they  were  molded  by  the  chisel  of 
Phidias.  In  her  theaters  they  were  roused  by 
the  great  tragedies  and  songs  of  Sophocles  and 
i^schylus.  In  her  assemblies  they  were 
trained  in  statecraft  and  oratory  by  Pericles 
and  Demosthenes.  Surely  nothing  was  want- 
ing in  culture,  in  art,  in  learning,  in  patriot- 
ism, in  poetry,  in  song,  in  precept,  in  society, 
in  surroundings,  to  make  the  youth  of  Athens 
scholars  by  birth  and  philosophers  by  inher- 
itance. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  every  people 
that  has  made  a  luminous  spot  in  history  has 
generated  its  light  in  the  halls  of  colleges  and 
universities.  Rome  had  the  Athenaeum  as  the 
head  of  the  schools  she  scattered  with  her 
eagles.  Italy,  once  the  mother  of  letters  and 
of  genius,  ranked  as  queen  among  the  nations 

253 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

till  her  schools  lost  their  power  by  losing  their 
liberty.  In  the  thirteenth  century  a  school 
flourished  in  Bologna.  This  university  was 
founded  by  Theodosius  in  425,  and  restored  by 
Charlemagne.  Roger  Bacon,  the  good  friar 
known  as  the  admirable  doctor  who  ventured 
to  study  natural  science  and  spend  his  fortune 
and  that  of  his  friends  in  experiment  and  in 
alarming  the  Church  with  what  they  called 
witchcraft  and  the  black  art,  who  stood  as  the 
foremost  man  of  the  universities  at  Oxford 
and  Paris  in  natural  science  for  more  than 
three  centuries,  till  his  great  namesake.  Sir 
Francis,  came — this  man  tells  us  that  in  1262 
there  were  in  Bologna  over  twenty  thousand 
students.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  Bologna 
that  a  woman,  Novilla  Andrea,  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  was  professor  of  canon  law, 
and  Clotilda  Tamproni  was  professor  of 
Greek  in  our  century. 

The  university  at  Paris  was  started  as  a 
monkish  school  in  792,  and  made  over  and 
widened  into  greater  usefulness  in  1200.  It 
had  at  one  time  in  the  sixteenth  century  thirty 
thousand  students.  Oxford  was  born  in  the 
ninth  century,  and  Vienna  in  the  fourteenth. 
These  have  carried  France,  and  England,  and 
Austria  up  to  the  summit  of  their  glory.    The 

254 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

honor  of  Germany  to-day  is  not  chiefly  in  the 
victorious  march  from  Berlin  to  Paris,  but 
rather  in  the  great  universities,  from  Prague 
to  Berlin,  which  have  been  fostered  by  the 
national  spirit,  and  have  in  turn  fostered  that 
spirit,  and  have  thus  made  Germany  a  syno- 
nym for  greatness. 

Italy  to-day  has  twenty-one  universities 
and  two  hundred  and  seventeen  seminaries. 
No  wonder  that  Popery  has  lost  its  advantage, 
and  in  the  light  of  these  cities  which  can  not 
be  hid  poor  Italy  finds  her  way  back  to  unity. 
Spain  has  no  great  school.  The  dust  of  ob- 
livion is  a  yard  deep  and  a  hundred  years  old 
upon  her  ancient  universities.  Importing 
her  scholars  she  must  also  import  her  liberties, 
if  she  find  them.  Russia  has  seven  great  grow- 
ing universities.  Already  the  great  Northern 
Bear  plays  to  win.  Vitalize  that  great  host 
with  inventive  manufacturing  brains,  and 
nothing  will  be  impossible  for  Russia.  Swit- 
zerland supports  three  universities,  Holland 
three,  Belgium  four,  and  Denmark  two.  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  remind  us  of  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, and  Edinburgh. 

The  United  States  has  scattered  the  seed 
of  universities  so  thickly  over  this  continent 
that  a  Yankee  emigrant  can  hardly  stop  his 

255 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

wagon  to  camp  for  the  night  but  there  will 
spring  up  from  the  warm  earth  where  he  slept 
a  university,  or  at  least  a  college.  A  civiliza- 
tion without  great  schools  would  be  as  impos- 
sible as  saints  without  virtues  or  angels  with- 
out songs. 

It  inheres  in  power  to  gravitate  to  centers, 
and  thus  by  a  law  as  old  as  the  universe  it 
draws  all  things  to  itself  either  to  conquer  or 
assist.  Turn  such  a  soul  as  Saul  of  Tarsus 
into  a  city  or  State,  and  he  will  soon  find 
Stephen  and  the  synagogues  and  the  Sanhe- 
drim. Luther  could  not  break  out  of  his 
cloister  and  straighten  up  under  the  open  sky 
without  seeing  Melanchthon  and  the  giants  of 
the  earth.  Great  men  and  great  ideas  become 
centers  of  power  up  to  which  all  the  ambitions 
and  aspirations  in  the  nation  turn  their  hurry- 
ing feet.  Then  you  have  a  school,  call  it  as 
you  may.  Mankind  will  never  dream  of 
crediting  any  people  with  civilization  unless 
they  bring  forth  the  fruits  meet  for  such  char- 
acter. There  must  be  literature;  pure,  vigor- 
ous, masterly,  elevating.  There  must  be  art 
and  art's  refinement  in  taste  and  manners; 
humanities  that  illumine  the  dungeon  of  the 
convict  and  sweep  the  alleys  of  the  outcast; 
charities  that  light  up  the  wretched  at  home 

256 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

and  give  them  ideas  with  which  to  conquer 
their  wretchedness,  and  that  reaches  the  sink- 
ing, no  matter  how  far  off,  and  gives  them 
truths  and  revelation  with  which  to  transform 
their  characters.  All  this  requires  cultivated 
brain.  It  is  impossible  to  have  high  civiliza- 
tion without  great  universities. 

3.  Universities  are  rendered  necessary  by 
the  general  intelligence.  There  remains  the 
same  demand  for  leadership  if  there  is  to  be 
advancement. 

The  sage-brush  desert,  though  far  above 
the  sea-level  as  the  summit  of  Mt.  Washing- 
ton, is  none  the  less  a  flat,  monotonous,  and 
weary  waste.  The  army  of  lions  must  have 
the  supreme  lion  to  lead.  The  herds  of  wild 
horses  fleet  as  the  wind  must  somewhere  find 
a  leader  swift  as  lightning  or  the  morning 
breeze.  Fill  the  land  with  schools  and  books 
and  presses  and  free  pulpits,  and  somewhere 
you  must  have  universities.  Power  must 
gravitate  to  centers.  The  republic  has,  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1870,  507  colleges  and 
2,209  schools  for  higher  education,  and  125,- 
059  common  schools,  employing  221,042 
teachers  and  teaching  7,209,938  pupils.  These 
vast  figures  show  but  a  fraction  of  the  world 
of  education.     These  children  come  from  all 

n  257 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  homes  of  the  country;  they  return  from 
the  school-room  to  kindle  on  the  hearth  the 
fires  of  holy  ambition  borrowed  from  the  pub- 
lic luminaries.  A  quarter  of  a  million  of 
teachers  turned  loose  among  forty  millions  of 
people  must  revolutionize  every  community. 
Add  to  this  work  the  faith  and  heroism  of 
72,459  preachers  and  you  have  an  army  be- 
neath whose  tread  the  continent  trembles  from 
sea  to  sea.  Put  into  the  hands  of  all  these 
workers  45,525,938  books  and  1,508,548,250 
copies  of  periodicals,  and  you  have  trans- 
formed the  republic  into  a  literary  society  and 
the  nation  into  a  reading-room.  It  is  the  glory 
of  this  country  that  science  shines  into  our 
common  homes  and  philosophy  flourishes  in 
our  shops  and  factories.  The  path  to  power 
runs  by  the  poor  man's  cot,  and  the  honors  of 
scholarship  may  be  carried  ofT  by  hackmen. 
All  this  renders  almost  imperative  the  demand 
for  universities  and  colleges.  The  school- 
room, the  pulpit,  the  editor's  chair,  the  Sen- 
ate chamber,  and  the  Supreme  bench  must  be 
filled  with  highest  culture  and  profoundest 
scholarship,  or  leaders  must  be  found  else- 
where and  the  scepter  pass  from  the  tribe  of 
Judah. 

We    are   at   the    confluence   of   the   great 
258 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

races;  streams  of  ancient  blood  are  flowing 
into  our  veins,  and  all  the  literatures  of  the 
most  varied  civilization  meet  and  mingle  in 
our  atmosphere.  The  invading  multitudes  dis- 
embark in  the  darkness  of  each  night  and  by 
the  light  of  each  new  day.  They  hourly  land 
in  every  bay  and  bayou  of  our  ten  thousand 
miles  of  water  front.  Capital  comes  for  in- 
vestment; poverty  for  bread;  light  for  a  can- 
dlestick; and  ignorance  comes  for  light.  We 
have  room  enough  for  them;  they  can  not  run 
down  our  wild  herds  for  many  a  year  yet,  and 
we  have  single  vales  that  can  feed  mankind 
for  a  thousand  years.  But  the  press  and  the 
pulpit  and  the  school-house  must  be  manned 
by  trained  and  tireless  brains.  This  means 
training-camps,  universities,  somewhere. 

4.  The  controlling  minds  of  history  have 
been  trained  in  the  schools.  True,  there  are 
many  noble  exceptions  to  this  rule.  There 
stand  Franklin  and  Marshall  and  Washing- 
ton, who  make  the  republic  honorable  by  their 
histories.  But  all  these  were  strengthened  and 
sustained  by  scholars  and  books  of  scholars. 
There  are  self-made  men  who  may  well  be 
proud  of  their  work.  Indeed,  I  think  that  no 
man  is  more  than  half  made  who  does  not 
make  himself.    But  not  more  than  one  man  in 

259 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

a  million  can  do  a  good  job  with  poor  tools. 
You  can  get  flour  out  of  wheat  with  a  mortar. 
But  I  prefer  a  grist-mill — it  grinds  finer, 
faster,  and  more  economically.  Thus  it  hap- 
pens that  nearly  all  the  undying  literature 
comes  from  polished  pens — from  the  Addi- 
sons  and  Miltons,  from  the  Pitts  and  Sheri- 
dans,  from  the  Popes  and  Whateleys.  Take 
out  of  our  own  literature  the  work  of  our 
scholars  and  you  open  a  sad  gulf.  All  but  ten 
of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence were  trained  in  universities  and  colleges. 
More  than  one-fourth  of  the  members  of  the 
National  Congress  from  the  beginning  to  this 
day  have  been  graduates  of  colleges.  This 
fact,  taking  the  ratio  of  population  and  grad- 
uates, shows  that  the  colleges  have  given  their 
sons  more  than  thirty  chances  to  one.  The 
histories  of  the  White  House  and  of  the  de- 
partments of  government  and  of  the  supreme 
bench  add  emphasis  to  this  statement.  These 
facts  call  to  the  aspiring  youth,  "So  run  that 
ye  may  obtain." 

5.  Universities  stimulate  thought.  They 
create  an  atmosphere  in  which  a  dictionary 
or  a  blackboard  or  a  compound  blowpipe  is 
necessary  to  a  peaceful  existence.  They  make 
all  the  gales  and  breezes  blow  toward  books 

260 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

and  brains.  Make  public  sentiment  and  you 
can  kindle  or  quench  the  fagots,  build  or  de- 
stroy the  Inquisition,  perpetuate  or  extermi- 
nate the  despotisms.  Human  nature  is  weak 
and  takes  readily  to  rest;  men  are  lazy.  The 
spur  of  competition  and  the  sting  of  threat- 
ened defeat  help  flagging  zeal  and  so  quicken 
thought. 

6.  Universities  are  the  friends  of  true  re- 
ligion. They  increase  and  disseminate  light, 
and  the  truth  seeks  the  light — it  needs  expo- 
sure; it  has  nothing  to  dread.  These  schools 
turn  the  attention  more  toward  the  higher  na- 
ture. In  the  struggle  waged  in  every  bosom 
they  are  for  the  immortal  instead  of  the  ani- 
mal, on  the  side  of  the  angel  against  the  tiger. 
There  is  little  trouble  about  keeping  up  the 
low^er  industries;  there  is  no  shirking  them, 
they  must  be  carried  on.  Nature  guards  them 
under  penalty  of  death.  Men  will  eat  and 
seek  eatables  urged  by  no  other  argument  than 
that  nature  has  lodged  in  the  stomach.  But  to 
lift  them  to  higher  aims  and  inspire  them 
with  noble  purposes  is  not  so  easy  and  is 
something  toward  exalting  their  character.  It 
makes  larger  footing  for  the  truth.  Open  a 
library  or  a  school  in  a  community  and  you 
transform  the  amusements  and  the  industries 

261 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  the  markets.  The  bull-fight  and  the  tour- 
nament give  way  to  the  reading-room  and  the 
lecture-hall  and  the  sanctuary.  The  arrow- 
maker  and  the  tent-maker  are  superseded  by 
the  architect  and  the  engineer.  Men  are  set 
on  restraining  their  lower  propensities.  They 
see  the  day-after-to-morrow  and  plan  for  it. 
Soon  this  checks  wordliness  and  sets  them  in 
pursuit  of  eternal  results — tones  up  society. 
Thus  let  one  boy  or  girl  in  a  community  start 
up  toward  knowledge,  and  soon  a  goodly  pro- 
cession will  be  moving  that  way.  Every  step 
up  brings  them  more  clearly  within  the  reach 
of  truth.  In  a  more  definite  but  not  more  cer- 
tain way  the  university  furnishes  the  great  de- 
fenders of  the  Church.  Providence  may  use 
weak  instruments,  but  they  can  not  remain 
weak — the  very  use  builds  them  into  great- 
ness; so  God  prepares  great  workers  for  and 
in  great  work.  The  schools  of  Tarsus  were 
not  second  to  those  of  Alexandria,  and  the 
school  of  Gamaliel  was  well  fitted  to  continue 
the  training  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. Clement  and  Origen  studied  in  Alexan- 
dria; Luther  was  a  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wittenberg;  and  Melanchthon  was  a 
noted  professor  of  Greek.  The  Reformation 
was  committed  to  the  foremost  scholars  of  the 

262 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

age.  Calvin  was  quite  a  university  in  himself. 
Beza  was  no  mean  scholar.  John  Knox  grad- 
uated at  St.  Andrews.  The  late  reformation 
that  gave  the  world  a  new  evangel  was  mar- 
shaled by  such  scholars  as  Wesley  and 
Fletcher.  Their  song  was  taken  up  by  the 
Clarkes,  the  Bensons,  and  the  Watsons.  A 
multitude  rose  up,  and,  fired  by  heavenly  zeal, 
ran  down  to  the  battle  almost  as  they  were 
when  they  heard  the  first  blast  of  the  bugle. 
And  there  they  did  valiant  service,  and  the 
slain  of  the  Lord  were  on  every  hand. 

True,  these  men  did  not  stop  to  dig  the 
ore  out  of  the  mountain  and  smelt  and  fashion 
it  in  their  own  furnaces.  But  they  did  take 
the  weapons  furnished  by  Wesley  and  Clarke 
and  Watson  and  the  great  leaders.  But  for 
these  equipments  they  would  have  been  scat- 
tered in  the  first  hour  of  battle  like  down  be- 
fore a  whirlwind. 

7.  Universities  lighten  the  burdens  of 
mankind.  Most  of  our  heavy  lifting  and 
wearisome  carrying  has  come  from  our  dull- 
ness and  ignorance.  We  have  been  forever 
taking  hold  in  the  wrong  place.  It  is  beyond 
all  computation  how  we  have  aggravated  our 
inherited  disability.  We  have  thrust  around 
in  all  directions  as  if  hunting  for  the  laws  of 

263 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

our  well-being  simply,  or  chiefly,  to  violate 
them.  If  any  one  can  doubt  our  fall  in  our 
great  ancestor,  it  must  be  because  the  multi- 
tude of  our  falls  since  leave  no  demand  for  a 
first  fall  to  account  for  our  deformity. 

Doubling  the  channels  of  inheritance  by 
each  generation  as  we  go  backward,  it  only 
takes  a  few  centuries  to  tap  all  the  races  and 
drain  in  large  supplies  of  distemper  and  lep- 
rosy and  scrofula  and  insanity  and  perversity. 
I  do  not  wonder  that  we  have  dwarfs,  and 
cripples,  and  idiots,  and  criminals.  It  seems 
a  greater  wonder  that  we  do  not  have  more. 
But  for  the  remedial  agencies  set  at  work  by 
infinite  mercy  we  might  not  have  had  any- 
thing else  long  before  this.  As  it  is  we  have 
reduced  our  life  from  nine  or  ten  hundred 
years  to  thirty  years,  and  in  heathen  lands  to 
fifteen  years.  Just  of  late,  by  studying  and 
keeping  the  laws  of  our  well-being  we  have 
turned  back  toward  longer  life.  The  great 
schools  have  added  fifty  per  cent  to  our  life 
and  thus  doubled  our  work-day.  This  has 
been  achieved  by  three  economies:  First,  by 
stopping  the  violation  of  nature's  laws  and  so 
diminishing  the  waste;  second,  by  lessening 
the  strain  upon  the  vital  force  and  so  husband- 
ing   our    strength;    and    third,    by    creating 

264 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

greater  supplies  of  vital  force  in  the  more 
skillful  use  and  production  of  nutritives.  All 
these  economies  are  the  products  of  cultivated 
brain.  They  arc  born  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion and  experiment.  Since  the  medical 
schools  introduced  the  rational  system  of  in- 
vestigation, and  forsook  the  empirical  meth- 
ods that  prescribed  by  streets  instead  of  by  in- 
dividuals, and  bled  all  in  one  street  and  phys- 
icked all  in  the  next,  without  the  least  refer- 
ence to  the  disease,  age,  or  symptoms  of  the 
patient — since  this  change,  medical  science  has 
revealed  the  secrets  of  our  constitutions,  and 
has  put  us  in  a  way  to  resist  waste  and  destruc- 
tion. The  results  of  careful  thought  are  now 
abundant  in  the  substitution  of  machinery  for 
muscle.  In  Great  Britain  each  individual  has 
the  average  service  of  nineteen  servants.  No 
wonder  they  can  have  better  food  and  raiment 
and  more  culture  than  the  Hottentot,  who  has 
only  his  empty  hands.  Peasants  have  more 
comfort  to-day  than  could  have  been  found  in 
the  palace  of  good  King  Arthur.  In  the  age 
of  Bacon  and  Shakespeare  there  was  only  one 
pair  of  silk  stockings  in  England,  and  they 
were  kept  with  the  crown  jewels.  Yesterday 
a  respectable  copy  of  the  Bible  cost  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  could  be  owned  only  by 

265 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

wealthy  cathedrals  and  peers  of  the  realm; 
to-day  you  can  get  a  plainer  and  better  copy  for 
twenty-five  cents,  and  the  poorest  man  in  the 
country  can  have  one  if  he  wants  it.  Thought 
has  entered  every  field  of  industry,  from  the 
pantry  of  the  housewife  to  the  navy  yard  of 
the  nation,  from  the  chamber  of  the  sewing 
girl  to  the  cabinet  of  the  President.  It  has 
seized  upon  all  toil,  from  heading  a  pin  to 
heading  a  locomotive  boiler,  from  cutting  the 
eye  of  the  needle  to  cutting  the  Mont  Cenis 
tunnel.  Where  is  the  speed  of  Mercury  com- 
pared with  the  leap  of  the  lightning?  Samson 
is  weaker  than  a  babe  when  contending  with 
a  jackscrew.  What  is  Hercules'  lifting  against 
gunpowder?  What  show  would  there  be  for 
David's  sling  against  a  needle-gun?  This 
vast  multiplication  of  machinery  prepares  the 
w^ay  for  the  multiplication  of  products. 
While  the  earth  can  produce  game  and  berries 
only  for  one  ten-thousandth  of  its  inhabitants, 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  under  the  brain 
of  genius  and  in  the  hands  of  skill,  can  keep 
in  luxury  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam. 
It  w^as  a  long  journey  in  the  manufacture  of 
raiment  from  the  fig  leaves  of  Eden  to  the 
seamless  garment  of  the  Nazarene;  but  it  was 
inconceivably   further   to   the   weavers    from 

266 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

Brabant  who  settled  in  York — of  whose  art 
King  Edward  said,  "It  may  prove  of  great 
benefit  to  us  and  our  subjects."  The  Indian 
cotton  cloth  mentioned  by  Herodotus  cost 
nearly  as  much  as  the  same  number  of  square 
feet  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  before  the  days  of 
printing.  But  Gray,  and  Hargreaves,  and 
Arkwright  put  their  brains  at  work,  and  now 
it  is  much  cheaper  to  wear  cotton  than  to  wear 
nothing.  Attach  a  bench  of  sewing  machines 
to  those  factories,  and  then  throw  in  your  wool 
and  your  cotton,  and  by  the  time  you  can  wash 
your  hands  from  the  shearing  and  the  picking 
you  can  find  whole  suits  of  the  finest  fiber  and 
the  fairest  fabric  fitted  to  your  every  wrinkle. 
Meantime  your  wife,  instead  of  spinning,  like 
the  wife  of  Tarquin,  who  made  a  garment  for 
Servius  Tullius  that  was  preserved  in  the 
Temple  of  Fortune;  or  like  the  wife  of  Caesar, 
who  clothed  the  world's  emperor  in  "home- 
spun," but  was  "above  suspicion" — your  wife 
can  give  her  time  to  the  government  and  in- 
spiration  of  her  sons  and  daughters. 

Yesterday  it  required  whole  years  to  get 
word  from  Africa  or  Asia,  and  an  infinite 
faith  in  the  sailors,  who  described  lands  with- 
out touching  them,  and  in  the  map-makers, 
who  scattered  mountains  and  deserts  accord- 

267 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ing  to  fancy  and  regardless  of  fact.  But  to- 
day let  a  duke  smite  a  serf  anywhere  in  Rus- 
sia, or  let  an  Arab's  horse  stumble  on  the  des- 
ert, or  let  a  servant  take  the  plague  in  Egypt, 
or  let  a  Modoc  shout  one  note  above  the 
regulation  in  America,  and  nearly  every  fam- 
ily in  the  civilized  v^^orld  has  all  the  particu- 
lars before  the  next  breakfast. 

Communications  make  communities.  This 
must  soon  embrace  mankind.  When  we  get 
so  close  together  that  no  two  can  fight  without 
endangering  all  the  rest,  the  rest  will  not  let 
the  two  fight. 

The  great  thinkers  have  taken  hold  of  the 
problems  of  bread  and  raiment,  and  distance 
and  time,  and  government  and  destiny,  and 
have  so  solved  them  that  we  now  have  room 
to  grow,  and  right  to  spread,  and  time  to  think. 
Thus  the  outside  avoirdupois  burdens  have 
been  lifted  from  our  shoulders  by  the  forces 
generated  in  universities  and  institutions  of 
culture.  But  the  great  relief  has  been  in  un- 
loading the  soul  from  ignorance,  and  supersti- 
tion, and  bad  theology,  and  bad  government. 

Individual  culture  has  made  room  for  in- 
dividual character.  This  has  brushed  away 
the  priests  of  superstition,  and  the  sacrifices  of 
guilt,  and  the  veil  of  ignorance,  so  that  each 

268 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

man  in  the  temple  of  the  universe  has  been 
taught  to  come,  in  the  priesthood  of  his  hu- 
manity, with  the  offering  of  his  faith  and  af- 
fections to  the  open  and  accessible  mercy-seat. 
To  describe  the  work  of  the  schools  in  lifting 
the  burdens  of  the  race  would  be  to  write  a 
history  of  mankind. 

8.  Universities  are  the  friends  of  the  re- 
public. They  are  the  fountains  of  intelli- 
gence. They  are  the  great  reservoirs  that  sup- 
ply the  common  schools  with  teachers  and 
text-books  and  the  result  of  scientific  experi- 
ment and  philosophical  research.  Trained 
teachers  are  more  necessary  than  trained  car- 
penters or  artisans.  We  do  not  let  a  man 
bore  a  board  or  drill  an  iron  until  he  has 
served  an  apprenticeship,  lest  he  bore  or  drill 
in  the  wrong  place.  What  shall  we  not  re- 
quire of  him  who  bores  or  drills  the  minds  of 
our  children?  Without  universities,  institu- 
tions of  high  training  in  some  form,  we  can 
not  long  maintain  common  schools ;  without 
common  schools  we  can  not  maintain  general 
intelligence;  without  general  intelligence  we 
can  not  maintain  our  liberties.  The  universi- 
ties of  the  colonies  gave  us  Jefferson,  and 
Adams,  and  Hancock.    While  we  owe  much 


269 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

for  such  men,  wc  owe  more  for  the  ideas  and 
schools  that  came  with  them. 

These  underlie  our  liberties.  Sylla  of- 
fered Rome  freedom;  but  she  chose  a  despot. 
Cromwell  tried  to  plant  a  republic;  but  Eng- 
land wanted  another  Stuart.  France  can  not 
maintain  a  republic  until  she  educates  her 
peasantry.  And  our  republic  will  not  survive 
our  intelligence. 

The  power  of  these  institutions  is  compre- 
hended by  the  despots  of  the  earth  when  they 
attach  to  the  sovereignty  the  control  of  educa- 
tion with  the  power  to  coin  money,  issue  cur- 
rency, levy  taxes,  declare  war,  accept  peace, 
and  make  treaties.  The  study  of  the  history 
of  the  United  States  was  suppressed  by  royal 
edicts  in  the  universities  of  Europe.  As  late 
as  1858  Prof.  Luigi  Filippi  was  imprisoned 
for  commending  the  study  of  our  constitution. 
The  legates  of  the  Pope  conditioned  Napo- 
leon's advancement  to  the  empire  on  his  swear- 
ing on  the  cross  and  Gospels  to  maintain  an 
army  in  Rome  for  the  defense  of  the  Pope,  to 
appoint  as  Minister  of  Education  the  nominee 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  to  suppress  the  study  of  phi- 
losophy in  the  University  of  Paris.  Napoleon 
took  the  oath,  the  confessionals  were  opened 
for  him.     The  coup  d'etat  followed,  and  the 

270 


THE  univf:rsity 

Republic  went  down  under  the  empire.  This 
indicates  how  the  world's  great  intriguers  and 
men  who  cause  things  to  come  to  pass  have 
estimated  the  power  of  universities. 

9.  Universities  qualify  men  for  the  learned 
professions.  This  is  done  in  two  ways:  First, 
directly,  by  furnishing  instruction  and  advan- 
tages in  the  specialties  of  these  professions  (to 
this  we  may  refer  again) .  Second,  by  prepar- 
ing and  developing  the  mind  to  enter  upon  in- 
tellectual labors  worthy  of  intellectual  leader- 
ship. It  is  the  old  and  eternal  question  of 
preparation; — Can  the  eagle  mount  above  the 
storm  without  a  practiced  pinion?  There  is 
indefinite  and  infinite  fluttering  between  the 
eagle  beating  about  in  the  nest  and  the  eagle 
tracing  secants  on  the  circle  of  the  whirlwind. 
The  camel  is  born  in  the  desert.  Bred  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  his  posterity  might 
not  be  more  enduring  than  the  ox.  The  racer 
that  wins  is  petted  and  practiced,  and  pruned 
and  pushed.  The  Arab  says,  "Steeds  are  made 
of  barley  and  the  road  between  Medina  and 
Mecca;"  that  means  the  best  food  and  the 
longest  run,  180  miles  in  one  day — preparation 
and  practice.  Professional  success  lies  beyond 
the  stormy  desert;  he  who  would  reach  it  must 
soar  like  the  eagle  above  the  storms.     Life  is 

271 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

not  a  holiday  trip  ;  the  only  sure  help  is  ability. 
Professional  men  are  employed  not  for  friend- 
ship, but  for  results.  The  ministry  is  the  most 
nearly  an  exception.  And  even  this  becomes 
a  matter  of  business.  If  you  can  succeed  you 
can  stay;  if  you  can  not,  you  must  make  room 
for  some  other  man  with  an  equally  divine 
and  more  human  call;  for  the  individual  is 
nothing,  the  cause  is  everything.  Lawyers 
are  engaged  only  when  we  can  not  help  it,  and 
few  people  amuse  themselves  with  doctors  and 
ipecacuanha.  Therefore  you  must  beat 
against  the  storms.  To  win  in  any  substantial 
sense  you  must  mount  like  the  eagle,  endure 
like  the  camel,  and  run  like  the  racer.  The 
increase  of  intelligence  will  intensify  the  com- 
petition. The  great  work  will  be  given  to  the 
great  workers.  Men  will  make  more  careful 
preparation.  I  know  a  youth  with  rare  gifts 
as  a  mathematician,  and  he  has  gone  quite 
thoroughly  into  German  and  French  simply 
to  have  access  to  the  German  and  French 
mathematicians.  He  must  win.  What  men 
must  have  in  professional  life  is  victory. 
What  is  five  or  six  years  additional  study  com- 
pared with  having  the  chances  all  on  your 
side!  for  it  is  the  last  inch  that  makes  the 
tallest  man. 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 

lo.  Universities  are  profitable  in  dollars 
and  cents.  Whatever  improves  the  grade  of 
civilization  increases  the  security  of  society. 
Whatever  increases  the  security  of  society  en- 
hances the  value  of  property.  In  another  line 
the  measure  of  profit  is  the  value  of  thinking 
industry.  A  man  with  a  first-class  shovel  earns 
two  dollars  per  day;  with  a  first-class  pulpit, 
twenty  dollars  per  day;  with  a  first-class  news- 
paper, fifty  dollars  per  day;  with  a  first-class 
railroad,  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per 
day.  This  is  for  management  outside  of  capi- 
tal. Who  can  estimate  the  commercial  value 
of  such  a  brain  as  Beecher's  or  of  such  a  head 
as  Mrs.  Stowe's?  She  so  enriched  the  South- 
ern soil  that  it  will  produce  one  hundred  bales 
of  cotton  instead  of  one,  and  it  shall  grow 
school-houses  instead  of  shackles,  churches  in- 
stead of  slave-pens,  asylums  instead  of  auction 
blocks,  college  professors  instead  of  criminals. 
Put  all  the  seaboard  cities  under  contribution 
to  an  iron-clad  warship,  or  lay  them  in  ashes 
at  the  will  of  the  foe,  and  you  fix  some  crude 
estimate  of  the  financial  value  of  the  brain  of 
Ericsson.  But  who  can  compute  the  value  of 
Dr.  Olin,  or  Horace  Mann,  or  John  Quincy 
Adams,  or  John  Wesley,  or  John  Bunyan? 
What  shall  we  say  of  the  multiplied  arts  and 

i8  273 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

sciences  and  inventions  of  civilized  life,  and 
of  the  liberties  and  institutions  of  free  govern- 
ment? When  we  rise  into  the  fellowship  of 
these  forces  it  seems  almost  blasphemy  against 
the  moral  sense  of  mankind  to  suggest  mere 
commercial  estimates.  But  here  stands  the 
great  fact:  All  that  a  man  hath  can  he  give 
for  his  higher  life.  We  conclude  this  branch 
of  the  subject,  reiterating  the  facts  that  univer- 
sities are  the  fruits  of  advanced  civilization; 
that  they  are  essential  to  civilization  ;  that  they 
are  rendered  necessary  by  general  informa- 
tion; that  they  have  trained  the  controlling 
minds  of  history;  that  they  stimulate  thought; 
that  they  are  friends  of  true  religion;  that 
they  lighten  the  burdens  of  mankind;  that 
they  are  the  friends  of  the  republic;  that  they 
qualify  men  for  learned  professions,  and  that 
they  are  profitable  in  dollars  and  cents. 

II.  What  the  University  is  to  Do. 

I.  We  answer  in  brief — teach  all  knowl- 
edge. Possible  knowledge  is  so  vast  and  ap- 
proachable from  so  many  sides,  that  we  hardly 
feel  enlightened  by  the  answer.  It  takes  nar- 
rower form  in  the  process  for  self-develop- 
ment in  all  departments  of  our  being.  There 
are  two  kingdoms  over  which  man  must  be  en- 

274 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

throned — the  inner  kingdom  of  powers  and 
faculties  and  possibilities;  this  must  be  sub- 
dued, organized,  developed— made  into  the 
aggressive  army  for  the  subjugation  of  the 
outer  kingdom  of  facts,  forms,  and  relations. 
The  vast  amount  of  knowledge  that  must  in 
some  substantial  way  be  made  accessible  and 
available  by  a  university  seems  too  prodigious 
even  for  enumeration.  Single  departments 
have  grown  larger  round  the  waist  and  taller 
in  cubits  and  deeper  in  foundation  than  were 
all  the  departments  two  centuries  ago. 

The  University  of  Paris  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  with  all  her  thirty  thousand  students 
and  corresponding  army  of  professors,  would 
not  come  up  to  a  first-class  preparatory  school 
in  the  variety  and  extent  of  its  requirements. 
They  crowded  some  kinds  of  work  to  excess. 
Think  of  twenty  thousand  students,  as  at  Bo- 
logna, studying  the  canon  law  and  solving  the 
profound  question  of  precedence!  There  is 
more  power  in  a  single  Why?  that  may  pros- 
trate a  class  or  teacher  in  the  elements  of  phi- 
losophy, than  in  all  the  old  curriculum.  They 
backed  a  student  up  into  a  corner  of  his  cell 
and  opened  his  mouth  and  crammed  him  with 
decretals  and  anathemas  and  legends  and 
saintly  miracles,  packing  them  down  with  the 

275 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ramrod  of  authority,  till  his  soul  was  dead  and 
his  heart  was  dead.  There  was  no  room  to 
question  but  in  the  dungeon,  and  no  chance  to 
grow  but  at  the  stake.  A  single  Why?  which 
would  only  encourage  a  professor  in  yonder 
citadel  of  freedom  would  have  split  the  civil- 
ized world  and  have  ruined  the  theologies  of 
a  dozen  centuries. 

To-day  the  idea  of  a  university  reaches  the 
outer  verge  of  knowledge.  Standing  on  this 
green  sod,  beneath  these  brave  old  oaks,  by 
day  or  by  night  any  man  or  woman  can  face 
up  to  the  sun  or  the  stars,  or  to  Him  who  sits 
beyond  both  sun  and  stars,  and  ask.  Why? 
concerning  any  fact  or  precept  on  earth  or  in 
heaven,  in  this  world  or  in  all  worlds,  for  time 
and  for  eternity,  and  no  leaf  or  speck  of  mist 
will  fall  in  wrath,  and  no  blade  of  grass  nor 
tcnderest  violet  will  wither  in  dismay.  Here 
standing  on  this  open  page  of  God's  great 
work  we  can  call  Him  Father  and  ask  Him 
Why?  and  He  will  take  our  trembling  hand  in 
His  and  gladly  lead  us  into  all  truth.  If  the 
question  were  what  shall  a  particular  student 
study,  it  would  be  necessary  to  elect  for  him. 
For  one  mind  in  the  short  day  of  this  life  could 
no  more  master  all  knowledges  than  one 
mouth  could  eat  all  food.    A  general  acquaint- 

276 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

ance  with  the  whole  range  of  knowledge  is 
consistent  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  some 
parts.  Because  it  is  general  it  need  not  be 
vague.  It  may  comprise  the  leading  features 
and  be  definite  and  positive.  But  when  the 
question  is,  What  shall  be  furnished  for  all 
minds?  then  the  answer  comes  without  seek- 
ing. A  college  may  be  built  about  a  single  de- 
partment of  truths;  but  a  university  must  em- 
brace all  colleges,  and  so  seek  all  truths.  It  is 
easy  for  some  men  to  poise  on  a  point  and 
swing  around  like  a  girl  making  a  "cheese, '* 
till,  inflated,  they  think  themselves  supported 
on  all  sides ;  but  venturing,  they  fall  down  into 
emptiness  and  expose  their  folly.  Think  of  a 
scholar  described  by  Sidney  Smith,  whose 
great  ambition  was  to  "detect  an  anapaest  in 
the  wrong  place,  or  restore  a  lost  dative!" 
One  Dr.  George  declined  to  admit  the  great- 
ness of  the  Frederick  of  Prussia  because  he 
"entertained  considerable  doubts  whether  the 
king,  with  all  his  victories,  could  conjugate  a 
Greek  verb  in  rnif'  He  did  not  see  that  the 
king  knew  "how  to  illustrate  upon  the  stage  of 
royalty  the  verb  eimi — to  be — and  bring  out 
its  full  meaning  amid  the  rout  of  armies  and 
the  ruin  of  empires. 

A  university  must  make  accurate  men,  but 
277 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

she  must  seek  to  make  them  men  of  the  cen- 
tury and  of  the  latest  telegram — men  able  to 
interpret  events,  and  plan  on  the  field  of  ac- 
tion; men  whom  circumstances  can  not  desert, 
who  can  read  the  handwriting  on  the  wall 
and  dare  to  translate  it  in  any  court.  The 
university  can  not  become  a  partisan  in  the 
controversies  of  competing  studies,  but  like  a 
mother  she  must  cherish  them  all,  giving  each 
the  security  of  a  fair  chance,  and  let  results 
and  advancing  judgment  of  the  age  settle  all 
questions  of  superiority. 

It  is  consistent  with  this  impartiality  to 
state  the  reasons  sustaining  the  several  fami- 
lies or  classes  of  studies. 

2.  The  Classics  demand  our  first  attention. 
There  are  worthy  scholars  and  experienced 
educators  who  would  not  admit  this  question 
as  a  debatable  one.  They  say  that  ''the  mem- 
ory of  man  runs  not  to  the  contrary,"  and  that 
''the  usage  has  been  sanctified  by  time."  But 
it  is  sufficient  answer  that  the  old  laws  of 
granite  give  way  when  the  earthquake  comes. 
Nothing  is  exempt  from  the  law  of  revolution. 
Unless  the  ancient  customs  can  show  better 
reasons  for  continuing  than  mere  antiquity, 
they  must  cease.  The  classics  have  held  the 
position  of  power  for  centuries ;  but  that  may 

278 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

be  a  question  of  age  rather  than  merit.  At 
the  revival  of  knowledge  after  the  dark  ages, 
Latin  was  the  vernacular  of  the  Church  and 
of  scholars.  There  was  not  much  else  to  teach. 
There  was  no  science  beyond  the  physical 
works  of  Aristotle  even  as  late  as  the  sixteenth 
century.  Clinging  exclusively  to  the  classics 
now  because  they  were  once  adopted  when 
there  was  little  else  to  adopt,  is  like  clinging 
to  the  crooked  stick  of  Cincinnatus  because  he 
chose  it  for  a  plow  w^hen  there  was  nothing 
else  to  choose.  It  may  further  be  stated  that 
objections  have  been  urged  against  the  study 
of  the  classics  in  every  country  where  they  are 
studied,  and  often  by  men  familiar  with  them. 
In  Germany  they  were  for  a  time  excluded 
from  the  schools.  They  have  been  reinstated. 
As  long  ago  as  1827,  Yale  College  appointed 
''a  committee  to  report  on  the  expediency  of 
dispensing  with  the  study  of  the  dead  lan- 
guages/' They  reported  adversely,  but  they 
reported.  Essays  and  books  have  been  written 
and  published  on  both  sides  of  the  question. 
To-day  the  modes  of  instructing  and  the  ex- 
tent of  instruction  are  being  modified.  But 
the  controversy  is  not  a  losing  one  for  the  old 
culture.  Classics  are  in  more  danger  from 
over-zeal  than  from  all  other  causes.    The  test 

279 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

that  must  determine  this  question  is  utility.  If 
the  study  of  the  classics  is  useless  as  an  instru- 
ment of  education  in  completing  the  character 
and  outfit  of  a  scholar,  then  it  can  not  hold  its 
place.  The  danger,  then,  is  in  urging  it  for 
purposes  for  which  it  is  useless. 

To  crowd  the  classics  upon  every  student 
without  regard  to  age  or  his  aims;  to  hold  a 
smattering  of  Greek  and  Latin  before  a  knowl- 
edge of  English,  in  cases  where  only  a  limited 
amount  of  that  can  be  taken;  to  hold  that  it 
is  better  to  decline  the  Greek  article  or  a  Latin 
adjective  than  to  understand  the  principles  of 
political  economy — better  to  recall  the  history 
of  the  growth  of  the  Greek  particle  than  the 
history  of  the  republic;  better  to  measure  a 
line  of  Homer  or  of  Horace  than  to  measure 
the  resources  of  the  continent — all  this  Is  folly, 
and  must  work  against  the  classics.  To  main- 
tain that  there  is  no  door  into  the  world  of 
thought  but  through  these  dead  tongues ;  that 
the  highest  mental  power  can  not  be  approxi- 
mated in  any  way  except  by  the  study  of  the 
remains  of  these  two  peoples,  is  asking  too 
much  of  the  countrymen  of  Marshall  and  of 
Franklin  and  of  Washington.  To  refuse  the 
honor  of  scholarship  to  a  man  who  is  familiar 
with  the  "unread  manuscripts  of  God,"  be- 

280 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

cause  he  is  unread  in  the  manuscripts  of  Plato; 
to  withhold  credit  from  him  who  can  analyze 
the  soil  on  which  we  walk,  and  the  food  on 
which  we  live,  because  he  can  not  analyze  a 
sentence  in  the  preface  of  Livy,  or  a  chorus 
of  Sophocles,  are  decisions  that  will  hardly  be 
maintained  by  the  judgment  of  this  century 
and  of  the  American  people.  Danger  of  error 
lies  in  the  reaction  from  those  overstatements. 
Here  as  in  most  controversies  the  truth  lies 
between  the  extremes.  The  objection  may  be 
reduced  to  a  few  general  statements :  (a)  That 
the  classics  are  Pagan.  Yes;  but  that  is  only 
a  name.  They  are  from  human  sources,  and 
full  of  human  power.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
origin,  but  of  contents ;  not  whence?  but  what? 
The  light  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  fell  first 
on  Pagan  eyelids;  and  the  supreme  blessing 
came  upon  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faith- 
ful, from  the  hands  of  a  wandering  high  priest 
of  heathenism,  (b)  That  they  are  impure. 
Yes,  in  places,  but  not  as  a  law.  There  are 
but  few  passages  worse  than  some  passages  of 
Shakespeare,  or  than  some  statements  in  the 
Bible.  The  classics  as  encountered  in  modern 
text-books  and  courses  of  study  are  not  open 
to  this  objection,  and  scholars  roaming  at  large 
in  the  fields  of  literature  can  find  sewers  and 

281 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Gehennas  if  their  taste  leads  them  that  way. 
''To  the  pure  all  things  are  pure."  (c)  That 
they  are  of  no  use.  This  depends  upon  what 
you  mean  by  use.  If  you  mean  that  you  will 
not  care  to  handle  them  in  the  counting-room, 
nor  in  the  factory,  nor  yet  the  drawing-room, 
then  they  are  not  of  use.  But  very  little  else 
is  of  use  measured  by  that  standard.  Reading 
and  spelling,  and  writing  and  grammar,  and 
arithmetic  through  interest  and  proportion  are 
all  that  are  required.  Pat  having  these  usable 
elements,  with  his  shovel  or  whip  is  as  well 
qualified  for  life  as  the  man  in  the  office  or 
counting-room.  The  fallacy  lies  in  what  is 
meant  by  use.  Thinking  that  only  those  rules 
which  you  repeat  are  of  value,  is  no  wiser  than 
the  street  gamin  who  wants  half-raw  potatoes 
because  they  do  not  digest  and  do  stay  in  his 
stomach.  The  food  that  is  of  use  is  that  that 
comes  out  in  bone  and  muscle  and  tissue  and 
blood  and  brains.  The  knowledge  that  is  of 
use  in  training  is  that  w^iich  gives  compass 
and  vision  and  judgment  and  patience  and  per- 
sistence and  power,  (d)  That  few  students 
like  the  classics.  Possibly;  but  all  like  play. 
Would  it  do  to  substitute  baseball,  boating,  eti- 
quette, and  twilight  rambles  as  more  popular 
pursuits?    Then  those  who  do  like  the  classics 

282 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

have  rights  which  a  university  is  bound  to  re- 
spect, (e)  That  the  classics  have  only  to  do 
with  words  instead  of  things,  and  make  word 
rememberers.  Yes;  but  words  are  also  things. 
Corner-lots,  sewers,  tunnels,  ships,  homes, 
breadstuffs,  shovels,  and  shanties  are  no  more 
certainly  things  than  Homer's  battles  about 
Troy,  or  the  navigation  at  Salamis,  or  the 
''Epitaphs  on  the  plains  of  Marathon,"  or  the 
spirit  that  broods  over  Thermopylae.  To  re- 
member the  meaning  of  words  in  a  Latin  his- 
tory or  poem  is  no  more  an  act  of  memory 
than  holding  the  names  and  classification  in 
science.  The  man  who  reads  and  understands 
the  orations  of  Cicero  against  Catiline,  or  of 
Demosthenes  against  Philip,  is  no  more  a 
word  rememberer  than  he  who  reads  and  un- 
derstands the  oration  of  Webster  against 
Hayne,  or  Sumner  against  slavery.  The  lim- 
ited amount  of  time  and  attention  given  to  the 
classics  in  American  colleges  removes  all 
ground  of  objection  based  upon  the  practice 
of  English  universities. 

The  time  for  study  in  all  our  schools  is 
too  short.  We  are  in  too  great  haste  to  suc- 
ceed in  making  great  scholars.  The  Greeks 
in  the  days  of  their  glory  kept  their  sons  in 
training  thirteen  years.     The  Jews  under  di- 

283 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

vine  command  kept  their  sons  in  school 
eighteen  years,  not  counting  the  preparatory 
work  of  the  first  twelve  years  of  their  life. 
It  is  not  uncommon  for  European  universities 
to  require  twelve  years  in  Greek  and  sixteen 
in  Latin.  There  is  a  line  of  argument  defend- 
ing the  study  of  the  classics  that  may  justify 
to  the  impartial  mind  at  least  as  much  study 
as  we  require,  which  is  not  more  than  seven 
years,  including  the  preparations,  and  this 
not  to  exceed  one-third  of  the  time  in  those 
seven  years.  This  justification  will  be  the 
more  certain  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
scholar  is  not  limited  to  the  classics,  but  is 
urged  from  these  and  with  the  power  they 
give  into  all  the  fields  of  knowledge,  (a)  The 
use  of  the  classics  in  discipline  is  one  of  their 
strongest  defenses.  They  are  adapted  to  the 
earlier  stages  of  mental  life.  Philosophy, 
metaphysics,  and  the  generalizations  of  nat- 
ural science,  all  require  more  strength  than 
the  beginnings  of  language.  Our  earlier  ef- 
forts after  observations  are  in  acquiring  lan- 
guage. The  classics  take  hold  upon  us  with 
a^  gentle  but  firm  hand,  and  lead  us  up  into 
vigor.  The  variety  of  action  gives  strength 
and  nimbleness  to  the  faculties,  fitting  the 
square  words  into  the  square  holes,  and  the 

284 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

round  words  into  round  holes;  develops  judg- 
ment. The  transferring  the  thought  into  good 
English  gives  accuracy  and  taste;  command- 
ing the  meanings  of  the  words  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  government,  strengthens  the 
memory.  Memory  is  one  of  the  divinest  gifts ; 
it  underlies  all  scholarship,  and  progress,  and 
identity,  and  accountability.  Its  cultivation  is 
no  mean  part  of  education.  It  is  not  all  of  it, 
but  it  is  involved  in  all  of  it.  The  Latin  and 
Greek  are  so  wonderfully  framed  together,  so 
complex  and  logical,  that  handling  them  oper- 
ates on  the  thought  as  exercise  in  the  gymna- 
sium on  the  muscles.  There  are  certain  quali- 
ties of  drill  that  can  be  reached  better  by  Latin 
and  Greek  than  in  any  other  way.  Mathe- 
matics tend  to  give  the  faculties  point;  lan- 
guages breadth.  Mathematics  ask  the  exact 
point  of  intersection.  Languages  ask  a  dozen 
questions  concerning  varied  meanings,  rules 
and  exceptions,  gender,  number,  case,  person, 
government,  and  the  like.  This  work  is  not 
so  fully  done  by  modern  languages  because 
they  are  not  so  compact,  logical,  fixed,  and  dis- 
similar from  our  own.  The  order  in  which 
the  languages  are  of  service  in  discipline,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  this:  Latin,  Greek,  German, 
and  French,  and  so  down  the  sunshiny  and 

285 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

moonshiny  tongues  of  the  warmer  zones. 
While  mathematics  drills  to  the  point  of  at- 
tention, natural  sciences  as  a  study,  as  sciences, 
require  more  discipline  to  undertake  them 
profitably.  The  matter  of  observation,  mere 
gathering  of  material,  the  beginning  of  nat- 
ural science,  precedes  all  other  training,  but  it 
is  feeble  as  a  means  of  discipline.  It  is  shared 
with  the  sheep  that  hunts  the  gum  weed,  or 
the  ox  that  retraces  his  steps  to  his  master's 
crib.  Language  comes  in  between  the  ex- 
tremes of  natural  science ;  /.  e.,  after  its  instinct 
of  observation  and  before  its  generalizations 
and  discoveries  as  a  science.  We  can  hardly 
overestimate  the  value  of  discipline.  It  is 
like  strength  to  the  productive  industries;  it 
is  better  than  mere  knowledge,  as  the  ability 
to  create  a  fortune  is  greater  than  the  ability  to 
own  it  when  it  is  given  to  you.  As  '^goodness 
is  better  than  good  acts,"  so  mental  power  is 
better  than  mental  furniture.  Professor 
Davies,  a  distinguished  instructor  in  mathe- 
matics, long  at  West  Point,  and  author  of  a 
series  of  text-books  on  the  subject,  after  an 
experience  in  Columbia  College,  said  "that  in 
his  judgment  those  young  men  who  had  been 
trained  in  the  classics  could  master  the  mathe- 
matics as  satisfactorily  in  two  years  as  others 

286 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

without  the  training  could  in  four  years." 
Julian  the  Apostate  forbade  the  study  of  clas- 
sics in  the  schools  of  Christians,  that  the  de- 
fenders of  the  faith  might  not  be  trained 
scholars.  These  are  windows  through  which 
you  can  get  glimpses  of  their  training  power. 
Culture  is  a  good  in  itself,  even  though  you 
can  not  realize  on  it  in  Wall  Street.  Yet  in 
the  market  of  eternity  it  shall  lack  no  bidders. 
It  is  like  perfection  of  muscle  or  of  organiza- 
tion that  never  comes  to  consciousness  till  some 
weakness  or  irregularity  manifests  itself.  A 
good  digestive  apparatus  never  reports  its  ex- 
istence because  it  never  reports  anything.  If 
it  cries  out,  it  is  because  it  can  not  help  it.  The 
more  perfect  our  health,  the  more  unconscious 
we  are  of  its  existence  and  value.  Neverthe- 
less, health  is  a  good  per  se.  So  it  is  with  cul- 
ture— it  is  a  good  per  se.  It  is  like  beautiful 
scenery  about  a  city.  You  may  not  be  able 
to  grow  potatoes  or  barley  on  the  hillsides,  yet 
they  are  worth  having.  Go  back  twenty  miles 
into  the  level  of  this  over-rich  and  productive 
prairie,  drop  down  a  mountain  with  rock  and 
rivulet  and  with  gorge  and  chasm,  and  place 
at  its  foot  a  laughing  little  lake  to  mirror  its 
majesty  and  double  its  beauty  and  altitude. 
Or  bring  the  Yosemite  Valley  into  this  county. 

287 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Though  ''El  Capitane"  and  the  "Dome  of 
Liberty"  and  the  "Cathedral  Rocks"  never 
produce  a  blade  of  grass  or  a  spear  of  wheat, 
though  the  "Bridal  Veil"  falling  nine  hundred 
feet,  and  the  "Ribbon  Fall"  leaping  thirty-five 
hundred  feet,  never  turn  a  wheel  or  drive  a 
spindle,  yet  I  will  insure  you  a  city  there.  It 
will  charm  the  world  like  the  eye  of  the  desert 
—that  oldest  city  of  the  world — Damascus. 
Men  will  be  drawn  there  by  the  magnetism  of 
its  beauty.  So  go  into  the  dead  level  of  our 
productive  industries  and  create  a  spirit  of 
advanced  culture,  plant  the  graces  of  beauty 
and  of  taste,  cultivate  the  virtues  of  peace  and 
domesticity,  and  even  though  you  can  not 
grow  potatoes  in  your  parks,  or  wheat  on  your 
lawns,  yet  I  will  insure  you  a  city  and  society 
there.  Men  will  come  for  the  fragrance  that 
floats  on  the  evening  breeze,  and  for  the  peace 
that  stands  guard  over  their  children. 

The  culturing  qualities  of  the  classics  not 
only  in  giving  mental  discipline,  but  also  in 
enlarging  the  student,  widening  his  horizons, 
making  him  consciously  the  heir  of  all  the 
ages,  justify  large  expenditures  of  time  and 
money  in  their  study.  If  Socrates  had  not  for- 
bidden us  to  put  truth  to  a  vote,  this  view  could 
be  supported  by  such  men  as  Victor  Cousin, 

288 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

Sir  William  Hamilton,  and  Dr.  William 
Whewell.  But  I  must  pass  on,  only  indicat- 
ing other  arguments  developed  by  the  long 
controversy. 

(b)  The  classics  open  our  way  into  valu- 
able knowledge  of  the  earlier  stages  of  human 
society.  Words  are  often  embalmed  customs. 
An  adage  may  contain  whole  theologies.  An 
axiom  may  preserve  whole  systems  of  govern- 
ment. In  the  search  for  pre-historic  man,  as 
we  stand  on  the  most  ancient  records  and  peer 
back  into  the  darkness  of  savagery,  any  fable 
or  myth  floating  by  may  give  us  a  hint  of 
truth;  any  song  coming  out  of  the  gloom  may 
direct  us  to  the  secret  of  our  search;  any  cus- 
tom or  social  habit  or  crystallized  prejudice 
that  lies  beyond  may  be  of  great  service. 
Whoever  would  search  the  old  regions  must 
take  the  torch  of  old  languages  to  read  the 
epitaphs.  He  must  have  eyes  to  see  the  old 
monuments  and  ears  to  hear  the  voices  from 
the  old  sepulchers.  For  he  searches  for  se- 
crets which  none  but  God  and  the  mighty  dead 
can  reveal. 

(c)  The  classics  enable  us  to  note  the  origin 
and  descent  and  growth  of  ideas.  This  is  the 
marrow  of  history  and  the  juice  of  philosophy. 
The  force  of  the  New  Testament  doctrines  is 

19  289 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

vastly  augmented  by  giving  them  the  advan- 
tages of  their  historical  growth.  The  spring 
that  oozed  out  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  where 
Abel  offered  his  lamb  grows  into  a  brook,  then 
a  river — a  resistless  tide  bearing  up  the  Lamb 
of  God  and  all  mankind. 

(d)  The  classics  give  us  insight  into  Greek 
and  Roman  forces  that  largely  mold  our  civ- 
ilization. This  is  a  Christian  civilization,  but 
in  doctrine  it  is  grown  upon  a  Hebrew  root. 
Its  tone  is  from  the  Greeks  and  its  form  still 
shows  the  mold  of  the  Romans;  the  old 
wooden  plow  has  now  a  steel  point,  and  the 
coat  of  mail  has  grown  into  a  casement  for  a 
whole  crew.  Legislation  and  government  at 
home  and  abroad  are  in  the  old  lines.  Greek 
and  Roman  thought  is  woven  into  all  our  cus- 
toms; it  makes  up  a  large  per  cent  of  our 
culture.  An  English  statesman  might  as  well 
be  ignorant  of  the  rights  that  took  root  on  the 
field  of  Hastings  as  for  an  American  scholar 
to  be  ignorant  of  our  inheritance  from  the  old 
civilizations. 

(e)  The  classics  help  us  to  a  knowledge  of 
our  own  tongue.  Trench  says  that  thirty  per 
cent  of  the  words  used  in  our  literature  are 
derived  directly  from  the  Latin;  probably  as 
many  more  are  derived  indirectly  from  the 

290 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

same  source.  Let  us  not  have  foreign  and  un- 
explorable  regions  in  our  own  tongue.  Our 
literature  is  full  of  classical  allusions  that  can 
be  understood  only  from  the  forum  near  the 
Tiber  and  from  the  Acropolis  at  Athens. 

(f)  The  old  dead  tongues  give  us  finest 
models  and  standards  of  taste.  The  fathers 
of  English  classics  lived  on  Greek  roots  and 
wore  Roman  clothes.  Go  to  the  Vatican,  com- 
pare modern  statuary  with  the  fragments  and 
specimens  of  the  art  that  have  come  down  to 
us  from  the  age  of  Phidias — that  will  illus- 
trate a  higher  fact  in  letters.  We  can  learn 
perspicuity  from  Livy,  compactness  and  vivid- 
ness from  Tacitus,  simple  elegance  from 
Ca3sar,  life  and  light  from  Homer,  majesty 
and  dignity  from  Virgil,  and  the  perfection  of 
art  from  Demosthenes.  He  who  would  per- 
fect himself  in  English  must  have  access  to 
these  ancient  fountains. 

(g)  The  classics  lead  us  furthest  into  the 
philosophy  of  all  languages.  Thus  it  hap- 
pens that  the  knowledge  of  Latin  gives  us  the 
secret  of  all  the  modern  languages.  With  this 
start  a  student  can  acquire  a  modern  language 
in  one-fourth  of  the  time  he  could  without  this 
knowledge.  If  I  had  to  furnish  a  lad  with 
four  or  five  modern  languages,  I  would  pre- 

291 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

pare  him  for  application  by  drill  in  Latin.  In 
building  a  great  temple,  the  best  investment 
is  in  derricks.  I  know  an  extensive  contractor 
for  painting  and  frescoing  who  makes  his  mar- 
gins out  of  his  complete  system  of  scaffolding. 
For  he  says  that  "a  ten-dollar  workman  soon 
wastes  a  scaffolding  in  clambering  up  and 
down  ladders."  In  finishing  off  this  living 
temple  with  modern  tongues,  it  pays  to  hold 
the  workman  at  advantage  with  a  broad  foot- 
ing in  classical  culture. 

(Ji)  The  study  of  classics  aids  in  mastering 
many  other  branches.  Strength  to  handle 
sacks  of  wheat  can  be  used  to  handle  sacks  of 
coffee.  Every  added  Church  in  a  city  full  of 
material  helps  all  the  other  Churches.  Every 
branch  of  industry  developed  in  a  community 
makes  work  and  chance  for  other  branches. 
Every  hundred  thousand  people  added  to  the 
population  of  a  city  adds  another  layer  of 
greenbacks  to  the  business  property.  Almost 
every  science  is  labeled  in  Latin  or  Greek. 
The  very  names  of  classification  involve  this 
knowledge.  As  in  the  days  of  the  Caesars  all 
roads  led  to  Rome,  so  in  knowledge,  if  you 
would  go  into  any  field,  the  shortest  route  is 
by  the  way  of  Rome. 

(i)  The  classics  lie  on  the  threshold  of  the 
292 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

learned  professions.  The  lawyer  can  hardly 
enter  or  open  his  case  without  encountering 
terms  that  have  refused  to  be  translated.  The 
physician  can  hardly  write  a  prescription 
without  plunging  out  of  sight  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  No  matter  if  the  writ  of  the  officer 
is  not  more  terrible  or  the  mixtures  of  the  phy- 
sician more  abominable  on  account  of  the 
dead  languages  used  in  the  process,  there  the 
facts  remain.  Whoever  will  get  the  kernel  out 
of  the  nut  must  break  the  shell.  The  theo- 
logian is  sealed  up  to  these  languages  for  his 
authority.  The  w^ords  he  is  to  repeat  and  the 
good  new^s  he  is  to  tell  fall  from  heaven  in 
a  strange  language.  How^ever  little  he  may 
care  to  display  the  original,  he  ought  to 
have  the  key  to  its  secrets.  It  was  not 
enough  for  me  that  a  fellow  student  should 
read  to  me  my  father's  letters,  I  wanted 
to  read  them  first.  It  seemed  to  my 
young  heart,  so  far  and  so  many  years 
from  home,  that  I  could  see  his  form  more 
distinctly  w^hile  following  the  lines  his  aged 
hand  had  traced.  Now  and  then  my  eye 
caught  a  dash  or  a  blister  on  the  paper  that 
told  me  the  great  truth  as  nothing  else  could. 
I  knew  as  I  choked  down  the  unutterable  long- 
ing and  turned  again  to  my  work  that,  though 

293 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

I  might  be  shoving  up  out  of  boyhood,  and  he 
might  be  bowing  toward  age,  still  his  love 
followed  me  morning  and  evening  and  his 
prayer  carried  my  name  into  the  holy  of 
holies.  So  with  the  letters  from  our  great 
Father;  the  preacher  ought  to  read  them  first 
hand.  There  are  signs,  accents,  silent  letters, 
finger  marks,  that  tell  the  story  as  nothing  else 
can.  They  open  the  gates  and  expose  to  our 
longing  eyes  the  streets  of  gold  and  the  palaces 
of  fire  and  thrones  of  light.  We  gaze  upon 
the  King  in  His  glory.  He  embraces  us  as  a 
Father.  Our  hearts  feel  the  new  life  and  our 
lips  touch  the  holy  fire. 

(j)  The  study  of  the  classics  is  of  efficient 
service  in  perfecting  the  orator.  This  theme 
impresses  me  more  profoundly  as  I  advance 
in  years.  Speech  is  a  divine  gift,  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  human  animal.  It  is  the 
chosen  instrument  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  world.  ''By  the  foolishness  of  preaching" 
is  the  inspired  order.  While  the  Church  lives 
and  men  and  women  are  assembled  once  or 
twice  a  week  to  hear,  it  can  never  be  a  sec- 
ondary matter  how  the  speaking  is  done. 
Horace  says,  "The  poet  is  born,  not  made." 
I  say  of  the  orator,  he  ought  to  be  born  twice, 
at  least,  and  then  made.     It  is  a  significant 

294 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

fact  that  all  the  great  orators  have  been  great 
students  and  deeply  versed  in  the  classics.  De- 
mosthenes struggled  more  to  master  his  dis- 
abilities than  would  be  required  to  master  any 
curriculum  in  the  land,  and  his  orations  show 
a  thorough  acquaintance  with  all  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  time.  Cicero  made  oratory  his 
chief  study,  secured  the  ablest  instructors, 
studied  all  the  models  from  the  past,  practiced 
daily  in  Greek  oratory  as  well  as  his  mother 
tongue.  Pitt  and  Fox  were  both  trained  by 
wise  fathers  who  were  themselves  orators, 
with  special  reference  to  public  speaking. 
They  were  steeped  in  the  classics  from  early 
childhood.  Both  were  almost  as  familiar  with 
Greek  and  Latin  as  with  English — reading, 
criticising,  studying  the  masterpieces  of  the 
ancients  all  through  their  years.  Webster, 
who  has  extorted  the  honor  of  being  the  prince 
of  orators,  committed  Cicero's  orations  to 
memory  and  kept  himself  familiar  with  the 
best  classical  culture. 

The  habits  and  studies  of  these  men  indi- 
cate on  what  the  great  orators  feed.  In  this 
republic,  where  all  interests  of  society  are  to 
be  determined  by  popular  assemblies,  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  Christians  and  pa- 
triots qualify  themselves  to  control  these  as- 

295 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

semblies.  I  tarry  to  add  emphasis  to  the  value 
of  this  power.  I  know  that  its  public  and  os- 
tentatious character  has  brought  it  into  dis- 
favor among  many  scholars.  But  I  am  thank- 
ful that  the  Northwestern  has  made  special 
provision  in  this  department  in  a  way  not  sur- 
passed, if  equaled,  by  any  of  the  institutions  of 
the  country.  As  we  must  have  a  vast  amount 
of  speaking,  and  increasingly  so  since  the 
women  have  found  the  rostrum,  let  us  see  to 
it  that  it  has  the  best  foundation  and  divinest 
inspiration. 

This  argument  is  sufficient  to  indicate  that 
large  room  must  be  made  in  a  university  for 
the  study  of  the  classics.  Not  every  young 
man  is  adapted  to  these  studies,  nor  will  every 
young  man  be  greatly  profited  by  them. 
There  is  a  large  demand  for  cultivated  brain 
and  skilled  labor  in  every  department  of  life, 
and  only  part  of  the  workers  would  be  advan- 
taged by  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin.  But 
there  are  large  fields  of  mental  activity  where 
this  training  and  knowledge  is  indispensable. 
When  the  age  and  circumstances  and  gifts  of 
a  student  will  admit  of  such  a  course,  I  would 
train  him  in  the  classical  course  as  a  mere 
culture  and  preparatory  course.  After  that 
let  him  enter  upon  his  professional  or  special 
.       296 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

course.  Few  men  have  any  ability  or  culture 
to  spare.  The  great  work  of  life  is  untouched 
because  no  one  is  found  worthy  to  open  the 
sealed  book.  Men  worry  about  place  when 
they  ought  to  worry  about  ability.  There  is  no 
lack  of  opportunity.  There  are  fifty  pulpits 
in  the  land  as  good  as  the  Plymouth  pulpit. 
But  where  are  the  Beechers?  Where  are  the 
men?  There  is  room  enough  under  this  West- 
ern sky  for  the  tallest  scholars  of  the  age.  But 
where  are  the  men?  Where  is  the  material 
out  of  which  to  make  them?  There  is  no  lack 
of  demand  and  opportunity.  There  is  too 
much  room  at  the  top.  Brother,  fit  yourself 
for  the  kingly  work,  and  God  will  send  the 
anointing  prophets.  Humanity  stumbles  on 
in  the  darkness.  The  good  cause  languishes, 
and  God  patiently  waits.  Where  are  the 
workers?  I  wish  I  could  sound  this  question 
into  every  home  in  the  land,  till  the  dreaming 
youth  and  slumbering  maidens  would  leap 
from  their  repose  and  make  everlasting  cove- 
nant with  heaven,  saying,  each  for  himself: 
"Come  what  may,  wall,  or  wave,  or  mountain 
parapet,  or  fiery  gorge,  or  rushing  flood,  or  de- 
vouring death;  come  what  can,  I  will  obey 
the  divine  command,  and  move  forward  with 
the  pioneers  and  scouts  along  all  the  lines  of 

297 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

thought  and  up  all  the  summits  of  knowl- 
edge." 

The  world  is  full  of  babes  and  children. 
We  want  men  —  great,  stalwart,  iron- 
jointed,  BROAD-SOULED,  FATHOMLESS,  sum- 
mitless,  divinely-aiiointed,  God-smitten,  kingly 
men,  to  whom  death  or  failure  shall  be  for- 
ever impossible.  This  will  take  time,  and  it 
can  not  be  done  by  a  short  cut  It  means 
patient  and  weary  years.  But  what  of  that? 
Have  we  not  all  the  future?  Are  we  not  im- 
mortal? We  start  out  of  the  preparation  of 
these  years  to  march  along  the  eternal  ages  in 
association  and  comparison  with  powers,  and 
principalities,  and  dominions,  and  thrones  of 
heaven.  When  I  think  of  myself  poised  on  my 
purpose,  encased  by  my  freedom,  inspired  and 
vitalized  by  the  Eternal  Spirit,  standing  up 
before  God  among  the  ancient  ranks  of  being 
that  rally  around  His  throne  and  support  the 
pillars  of  His  government,  then  the  chances  of 
this  life  and  the  toil  of  time  put  on  new 
majesty,  and  I  rise  to  my  kinship  with  God, 
and  believe  nothing  impossible  to  him  that 
willeth  and  believeth. 

3.  Next  after  the  classics  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  mention  the  modern  languages  as  hav- 
ing a  right  to  a  place  in  the  appointments  of 

298 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

a  university.  \'\niilc  they  are  inferior  to  the 
classics  for  drill  and  in  perfection  of  structure, 
they  still  have  certain  compensating  advan- 
tages. They  are  the  tongues  of  living  people. 
We  meet  them  in  the  street  and  in  the  mart, 
and  in  the  caucus  and  conventions.  But  more 
than  this,  they  are  crowded  with  the  richest 
results  of  research  and  science.  Charles  V 
said:  "So  often  as  I  learn  a  language,  so  often 
I  become  a  man."  Happily  there  is  no  need 
to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  these  studies. 

4.  Mathematics  claims  an  ancient  inherit- 
ance in  the  university.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  exclude  this  science  if  we  would.  We  could 
find  no  weapon  to  smite  either  student  or  pro- 
fessor that  did  not  involve  the  science  itself, 
for  it  enters  into  all  our  living.  Building  is 
preceded  by  the  study  of  proportions,  and 
quantities  and  strength  of  materials.  Machin- 
ery (and  everything  except  breathing  is  done 
by  machinery)  is  only  solved  and  illustrated 
problems.  The  drill  in  this'study,  from  addi- 
tion to  the  computation  of  the  orbit  of  the 
double  stars,  in  unequivocal.  The  student 
who  cuts  a  parabaloid  of  revolution  from  a 
given  cone  will  not  need  watching  while  his 
work  lasts. 

5.  The    natural    sciences    have    crowded 

299 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

themselves  into  the  curriculum,  and  have 
maintained  the  struggle  for  existence  with 
marked  success.  They  are  of  nature,  and  are 
in  league  with  events.  You  might  as  well 
argue  against  shadows,  object  to  earthquakes, 
forbid  eclipses,  and  anathematize  comets  as  to 
resist  natural  sciences.  The  real  question  is 
not  whether  we  will  admit  them  to  the  course, 
but  rather  will  they  leave  anything  else  in  the 
course.  Protestantism  can  not  oppose  any  sci- 
ence, but  superstition  may  well  do  it.  Like 
God's  revealed  Bible,  natural  science  will  put 
down  superstition  unless  superstition  puts  it 
down.  If  her  people  study  science,  that  will 
ruin  the  saints  and  the  decretals.  If  they  do 
not,  that  will  ruin  them,  for  they  can  not  com- 
pete unless  they  have  equal  chance  in  discov- 
eries and  appliances.  Thus  in  eithercase  the 
doom  of  superstition  is  fixed.  The  physicians, 
next  after  the  restless  and  robbed  heart  of 
mankind,  have  been  the  great  enemies  of  su- 
perstition. The  new-culture  men  are  now  in 
the  field  as  their  allies.  The  only  course  for 
Christian  intelligence  is  to  accept  the  situa- 
tion, welcome  all  light,  walk  down  into  the 
new  field,  and  find  God  back  of  the  last 
analysis. 

6.  The  technological  courses  are  the  con- 
300 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

summation  of  these  advancements  in  science. 
They  are  schools  of  knowledge  instead  of  cul- 
ture. They  aim  to  apply  the  sciences ;  they  not 
only  tell  how  it  has  been  done,  but  they  do  it; 
they  rely  upon  experiments ;  they  claim  to  fit 
a  man  for  life.  As  a  chemist  he  can  verify 
all  the  theories  by  experiment.  In  physics 
and  in  all  departments  the  student  must  test  by 
appliances  all  the  theories  of  science.  In  nat- 
ural history  he  is  expected  to  be  familiar  with 
every  rock,  and  stick,  and  weed,  and  to  have 
an  acquaintance  with  every  bird  that  flies  and 
fish  that  swims ;  to  know  intimately  or  to  have 
been  introduced  to  every  kind  of  reptile  and 
insect.  Such  an  acquaintance  can  not  be 
gained  in  the  half  hours  of  the  old-culture 
course.  Days  and  years  in  the  midst  of  the 
best  appliances,  under  the  inspiration  of  truth, 
hunting  on  the  fresh  track  of  some  new  law 
skulking  in  some  neighboring  thicket  or  glen, 
these  are  necessary  to  give  this  department  an 
insurance  of  results. 

This  cause  needs  an  advocate  no  more  than 
the  almighty  dollar  needs  one.  Courses  of 
training  that  deal  wholly  with  the  arts  of  liv- 
ing, with  the  production  and  manufacture  and 
transportation  of  the  necessities  and  comforts 
of  life,  can  always  justify  their  existence  in  a 

301 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

practical  community.  You  can  not  go  into 
your  house  or  into  your  office  without  the  min- 
istration of  these  senses.  The  proportions  of 
beauty  and  strength  that  make  your  home  safe 
from  accident  and  attractive  to  your  eye  come 
from  the  appliances  of  science.  Every  article 
of  raiment,  every  mouthful  of  food,  every  tint 
of  beauty  and  form  of  use,  every  appliance  of 
comfort  and  article  of  luxury,  comes  from  sci- 
entific skill.  Wherein  it  succeeds  it  is  of  sci- 
ence, knowledge  of  nature's  laws.  Wherein  it 
is  outside  of  this  knowledge  and  these  laws,  it 
always  fails.  There  is  not  one  question  of  our 
well-being  in  the  whole  field  of  our  activity 
that  is  not  touched  and  determined  by  science 
applied.  It  is  estimated  that  nature  unaided 
would  support  only  one  in  ten  thousand  of  her 
children.  Think  of  the  machinery  that  toils 
for  us  and  carries  the  burdens  of  humanity. 
Yonder  island  shivers  under  the  motion  of  six 
hundred  millions  man-power  of  unconscious 
industry.  Not  a  wheel  goes  round,  nor  a 
punch  comes  down,  nor  a  hammer  falls,  nor  a 
saw  starts,  nor  a  knife  cuts,  nor  an  auger  bores, 
nor  a  tool  moves,  nor  a  shuttle  flies,  nor  a 
spindle  sings,  but  it  is  an  illustrated  principle 
in  science.  Do  you  telegraph  to  your  office,  to 
your  factory  on  the  branch,  or  to  your  con- 

302 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

sumer  on  the  other  side  of  the  world?  That 
is  the  perfection  of  science.  I  never  send  a 
dispatch  but  I  feel  as  if  we  were  leaping  the 
impassable  gulf  between  us  and  the  infinite. 
But  telegraphing  is  not  the  whole  of  science. 
Your  morning  paper  that  brings  to  your  table 
every  part  of  the  known  world  and  reports  of 
the  slumber  and  safety  of  almost  every  indi- 
vidual on  earth  (for  if  they  are  not  mentioned 
we  know  that  nothing  has  happened  to  them) 
needs  something  besides  the  telegraph  to  actu- 
alize it.  The  paper  must  come  by  machinery 
that  hears  and  obeys  our  wishing.  Foundries 
must  toil  on  every  hand.  Laboratories  must 
experiment  and  analyze  and  combine  for  giv- 
ing ingredients  of  this  result.  Power  presses, 
things  of  life  that  could  take  a  distinct  piece 
from  each  postoffice  under  our  flag  and  still 
be  short  by  several  hundreds  of  pieces,  these 
great  presses  must  be  fitted  into  perfection. 
Then,  too,  all  the  gigantic  machinery  of  the 
railroads  must  be  in  perfect  order  to  consum- 
mate the  enterprise.  Let  a  switchman  over- 
sleep or  a  wheel  leave  the  track,  and  all  the 
other  appliances  are  frustrated.  Li  short, 
your  morning  paper  is  a  late  blossom  on  the 
stalk  of  civilization,  and  but  for  the  inventions 
and  victories  of  science  it  would  not  be  pos- 

303 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

sible.  The  college  of  technology  concerns  it- 
self altogether  with  the  knowledge  of  these 
sciences  and  their  application  to  the  questions 
of  life.  It  also  touches  life  in  a  most  vital  way. 
We  are  in  the  midst  of  mysteries  that  are  ready 
to  be  solved  and  are  surrounded  by  powers  that 
are  waiting  to  be  used.  All  that  we  need  is 
to  wake  the  magician  that  can  break  the  spell 
of  our  blindness,  and  we  shall  see  more  helps 
than  we  have  ever  yet  mustered.  There  is  fuel 
in  the  air,  somebody  must  cord  it  up.  There 
are  railroads  and  steamships  in  this  sea  above 
us,  somebody  must  build  the  depots  and  the 
docks.  There  is  air  for  us  in  the  sea,  some- 
body must  make  us  as  good  chemists  as  the 
fish.  Provide  air  and  fuel,  and  the  vales  and 
glens  of  the  ocean  might  make  good  summer 
residences.  The  great  truth  is  this — we  are 
only  at  the  threshold  of  possible  knowledge. 
This  college  of  technology  purposes  to  fur- 
nish the  keys  and  lanterns  for  further  dis- 
coveries. It  can  also  do  great  service  to  the 
State — now  requiring  more  natural  science  to 
be  taught  in  the  public  schools — by  opening 
its  laboratories  during  the  summer  vacations 
and  giving  seasonable  opportunities  for  the 
great  company  of  teachers  to  perfect  them- 
selves for  their  duty.     The  college  of  tech- 

304 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

nology  offers  a  course  of  study  sufficiently  pro- 
tracted and  searching  to  justify  the  bestow- 
ment  of  the  honors  of  the  university. 

7.  School  of  Theology.  This  has  always 
had  a  place  in  the  university.  Universities  are 
the  outgrowth  of  more  ancient  schools  for  re- 
ligious instruction.  Not  only  have  these 
teachers  been  abreast  of  their  times,  but  in  all 
early  ages  they  have  monopolized  and  con- 
trolled the  learning.  To-day  the  advancement 
in  knowledge  gives  the  ministry  no  alterna- 
tive ;  they  must  study  or  go  under. 

8.  Department  of  Law.  This  needs  no  de- 
fense in  theory,  though  it  may  need  emphasis 
in  practice.  This  profession  has  always  been 
held  in  high  esteem,  and  facilities  for  its  im- 
provement are  seldom  wanting.  But  at  no 
period  in  the  history  of  our  civilization  has 
there  been  greater  need  of  exalting  and  honor- 
ing this  profession.  Possibly  the  pulpit  and 
the  press  do  most  to  mold  public  sentiment, 
and  so  make  free  government  possible.  But 
next  in  power  stands  the  bar.  The  honor  of 
the  country  is  quite  as  much  in  their  charge  as 
in  any  other.  The  legislatures  of  the  country 
in  their  different  parts  are  controlled  by  the 
bar.  The  final  appeal  is  always  to  the  bench, 
and  without  an  honorable  and  learned  bar  it 

20  305 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

will  be  impossible  to  maintain  a  worthy  and 
unimpeachable  bench.  The  weak  place,  the 
place  of  final  trust  and  authority  in  our  gov- 
ernment, is  not  in  the  second  term  nor  in  the 
third  term  of  the  executive,  nor  is  it  in  the 
conservative  Senate  nor  in  the  volatile  House. 
But  it  is  in  the  Supreme  Court.  We  have  wit- 
nessed legislation  changed,  nullified,  extended 
in  the  interest  of  localities  and  prejudices,  by 
opinions  of  the  bench.  We  can  ill  afford  to 
lower  the  tone  of  this  supreme  authority.  The 
streams  that  fill  this  sea  must  be  purified  and 
exalted  in  character  and  honor.  The  bar — not 
second  in  manliness  and  honor  to  any  other 
profession — must  be  reinforced  by  scholars 
and  Christian  men,  men  with  views  of  public 
interest  broader  than  personal  ambition  and 
wiser  than  selfish  schemes.  Christian  patriots 
can  well  afford  to  put  their  treasures  into  a 
college  for  law  in  a  way  to  secure  the  most 
exalted  and  honorable  management.  A  man 
great  in  his  profession  and  great  in  his  char- 
acter from  the  head  of  a  law  faculty  could 
make  a  great  impress  upon  these  Northwest- 
ern commonwealths,  and  render  incalculable 
service  to  the  republic.  From  such  a  throne 
he  might  call  into  being  a  body  of  learned  men 
who   would   so   mold   the   public   mind   that 

306 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

financial  lobbying  would  be  understood  to  be 
what  it  is — not  professional  service,  but  brib- 
ery;  and  special  legislation  would  rank  not 
as  statesmansJiip,  but  as  treason.  All  honor 
to  an  honorable  bar.  Let  the  university  come 
to  its  steady  and  persistent  support. 

9.  The  Department  of  Medicine  is  one  of 
the  essential  elements  of  a  university.  Even 
when  it  had  few  of  the  characteristics  of  a 
science;  when  it  merely  observed  and  guessed, 
seeking  for  arbitrary  remedies ;  when  no  small 
part  of  professional  power  was  vested  in  semi- 
incantations  and  charms ;  and  when  the  wiser 
men  of  the  profession  relied  upon  nature  and 
nurses  on  account  of  their  helplessness,  know- 
ing that  they  really  knew  next  to  nothing — 
even  then  the  schools  were  founded,  and  flour- 
ished. It  is  the  interest  in  this  science,  and 
these  the  goodly  thinkers  that  have  illumined 
the  profession,  that  have  made  this  science 
what  it  is — one  of  the  foremost  philanthropies 
of  the  age.  Though  medicine  has  an  ancient 
and  honorable  place  in  the  very  idea  of  a  uni- 
versity, yet  I  can  not  dismiss  this  branch  of 
university  work  without  adding  my  apprecia- 
tion of  a  class  of  men  who  endure  all  hard- 
ships, sacrifice  all  personal  liberty,  and  brave 
all  dangers  for  the  comfort  and  well-being  of 

307 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

others.  Their  work  allies  them  to  One  who 
went  into  soul-healing  through  body-healing. 

lo.  Department  of  Philosophy.  This  is 
germane  in  its  construction  and  history,  but  is 
more  general  in  its  character.  Philology,  in 
which,  it  has  been  sarcastically  said,  "the  vow- 
els are  nothing  and  the  consonants  not  much 
more,"  is  growing  into  large  proportions. 
History  is  enjoying  a  revival.  It  is  turning  its 
searching  glare,  not  chiefly  to  what  a  few 
kings  did  and  said,  but  to  what  was  done  and 
said  by  the  people.  It  is  becoming  a  narration 
of  their  customs  and  codes,  a  description  of 
their  food  and  raiment,  an  insight  into  their 
houses  and  temples.  Here,  too,  must  be  classed 
English  literature,  that  is  forever  rapping  at 
the  doors  of  the  university,  asking  to  be  al- 
lowed to  crowd  out  the  older  studies.  Politi- 
cal science,  called  thus  because  it  usually  in- 
volves neither  politics  nor  science,  is  studied 
in  every  government,  and  by  every  man  who 
trades,  be  it  ever  so  little. 

Moral  and  intellectual  philosophies,  chal- 
lenging the  world's  thought  ever  since  the 
world  had  any  thought,  still  plunge  on  in 
fathomless  seas,  and  the  fine  arts,  in  all  their 
old  and  new  phases  touching  the  elegancies 
and  melodies  and  rhythms  of  life,  giving  a 

308 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

finish  and  perfection  to  civilization,  are  only 
in  their  infancy.  All  these  and  many  others 
that  might  be  enumerated  make  up  the  depart- 
ment* of  post-graduate  studies  and  investiga- 
tions that  must  find  a  home  and  advantages  in 
the  university. 

III.  The  Moral  and  Religious  Charac- 
ter OF  THE  University. 

This  concerns  either  man  or  God,  and  this 
part  of  the  subject  may  be  arranged  about 
these  two  centers: 

I.  The  university  must  be  no  respecter  of 
persons.  Her  advantages  can  not  be  condi- 
tional upon  complexion,  blood,  or  sex.  Amer- 
ica has  outgrown  all  doubts  on  color  and  race. 
There  may  linger  some  concerning  gender. 
These  can  not  long  remain  in  the  increasing 
light  of  this  age.  Nature  is  older  than  the 
oldest  American  university,  and  when  it  be- 
comes an  issue  between  these  parties  the 
friends  of  fair  play  need  not  be  in  doubt  as  to 
what  will  be  the  result.  This  week  we  learn 
that  Nature  has  triumphed,  and  the  women 
enter  old  Harvard.  Co-education  begins  by 
God's  plan  in  the  family  and  is  continued  in 
the  public  school,  and  no  one  objects.     It  is 

309 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

folly  to  fear  more  as  danger  diminishes. 
Without  creating  distinctions  which  do  not  ex- 
ist except  in  our  thought  or  in  our  customs,  we 
will  be  safe  in  assuming  that  there  is  no  dan- 
ger that  our  daughters  will  know  too  much. 
We  do  not  need  to  legislate  against  their  in- 
telligence. With  the  doors  open  before  all, 
there  will  follow  without  regard  to  sex  the 
endeavor  of  the  most  aspiring  and  the  "sur- 
vival of  the  fittest."  Opportunity  is  often 
ability;  a  chance  is  often  a  victory.  Without 
reference  to  the  old  doctrine  of  appetency,  ex- 
perience demonstrates  that  motive  and  oppor- 
tunity for  a  given  activity  in  any  class  or  com- 
munity develops  capacity  for  that  activity. 
This  law  holds  over  the  education  of  women. 
In  1863  the  University  of  Cambridge  reluc- 
tantly consented  to  admit  English  women  to 
university  examinations  with  a  view  to  give 
them  definite  standing  as  teachers.  At  the  first 
examination  ninety-one  candidates  presented 
themselves,  of  whom  fifty-seven  failed;  two 
years  later  one  hundred  and  thirty  applied,  of 
whom  only  twenty-eight  failed.  This  suc- 
ceeding ratio  has  steadily  increased  till  now 
the  examiners  nearly  always  accredit  the  girls 
with  the  most  thorough  acquisitions.  The  de- 
mand for  a  fair  and  equal  chance  hardly  needs 

310 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

argument.  The  republic  says  ^'any  one  that 
can,  may;"  experience  says  intelligent  men 
must  have  intelligent  wives.  The  mother 
more  frequently  than  the  father  transmits  the 
fiber  and  character;  nature  requires  that  great 
men  should  be  preceded  by  great  mothers.  A 
slave  mother  in  Tennessee  by  industry  and 
ability  purchased  her  own  and  her  children's 
liberty.  She  went  to  the  Methodist  preacher 
in  the  town  and  said:  'T  am  free;  I  have  three 
sons;  where  can  I  make  men  of  them?"  He 
said :  "In  Liberia."  She  went ;  one  of  the  sons, 
returning  to  America,  graduated  in  medicine 
in  New  York  and  became  the  ablest  physician 
in  the  Republic  of  Liberia;  a  second  son  be- 
came the  first  colored  bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church;  the  third  son  became  the 
first  president  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia. 
There  was  a  vast  amount  of  stock  in  that  "old 
black  woman."  I  recall  but  two  other  foun- 
tains so  full  of  greatness:  one  on  the  Island  of 
Corsica — the  mother  of  the  Bonapartes,  that 
gave  to  Europe  revolutions  and  emperors ; 
the  other  on  the  island  of  Great  Britain — the 
mother  of  the  Wesleys,  that  gave  to  mankind 
new  hope  and  a  new  evangelist.  I  crave  for 
my  country  more  than  all  things  else,  mighty 
mothers;    given    these,    and   Columbia    shall 

311 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Stand  a  thousand  years  and  nothing  shall  be 
impossible  to  her. 

2.  The  university  must  be  a  Christian  in- 
stitution. Christianity  presents  a  vast  array 
of  facts.  With  but  few  exceptions,  it  has  writ- 
ten the  histories,  inspired  the  books,  sustained 
the  schools,  and  developed  the  civilizations  of 
the  w^orld.  Its  sacred  books  are  the  noblest 
and  oldest  classics,  and  its  conscious  experi- 
ence is  as  much  a  subject  of  investigation  as 
any  other  class  of  facts.  The  reports  of  con- 
sciousness concerning  conscience  and  spiritual 
comfort  and  spiritual  testimony  are  as  worthy 
of  thought  as  the  reports  of  consciousness  on 
any  other  state  of  mind.  The  facts  of  prayer 
are  as  well  established  as  the  fact  of  gravity. 
The  fact  of  transformed  character,  of  kindled 
afifection,  of  exalted  purpose,  of  heroic  living, 
of  triumphant  dying,  are  as  much  facts  as  the 
growth  of  vegetation  or  the  circuit  of  the  stars. 
A  university  must  give  these  great  classes  of 
facts  a  fair  chance.  While  it  is  demanded 
that  the  Church  must  accept  facts  and  abide 
by  results,  it  is  not  too  much  to  expect  the 
same  from  universities.  On  the  supreme  sub- 
ject there  is  no  excuse  for  evasion  or  ambi- 
guity. The  trumpet  must  give  no  uncertain 
sound.     While  we  welcome  all  facts  and  all 

312 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

light,  we  accept  Christianity  as  a  fact  and 
Christ  as  the  light  of  the  world.  We  do  not 
arraign  the  apostles  before  the  bar  of  the  uni- 
versity and  keep  them  on  trial  for  perjury; 
but  we  send  them  about  their  work.  The  uni- 
versity stands  for  the  defense  as  well  as  for  the 
discovery  of  truth.  In  virtue  of  her  charter 
she  is  under  obligations  of  loyalty  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  republic.  These  are  the  interests  of 
a  Christian  nation,  for  such  we  have  been  from 
the  beginning.  This  Christian  nation  has  a 
right  to  expect  that  the  educational  institu- 
tions will  be  Christian.  It  is  difficult  to  un- 
derstand how  universities  can  be  anything  else. 
They  take  the  youth  of  the  land  from  family 
altars  in  the  formative  period  of  their  lives. 
They  are  under  most  solemn  obligations  to 
shield  them  as  far  as  may  be  from  the  floods 
of  temptation  that  threaten  to  overwhelm 
them.  And  more  than  this,  the  youth  need  the 
impartial  support  of  the  gospel.  For  in  this 
land,  in  the  light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
mere  morality  divorced  from  religion  has  no 
more  warmth  than  a  painted  fire,  and  no  more 
life  than  a  mummy.  God's  Son  came  as  the 
revealment;  Christianity  and  knowledge  were 
joined  by  eternal  decree,  and  it  is  too  late  in 
the  centuries  to  divorce  them.     Learning  has 

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ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

always  been  the  friend  of  Christianity.  The 
great  torches  that  illumine  the  centuries  be- 
hind us  were  kindled  by  the  fire  on  the  holy 
altar.  I  would  rather  lay  our  foundations  on 
a  southward-floating  iceberg,  or  on  the  crest 
of  a  volcano,  or  on  the  heaving  bosom  of  an 
earthquake,  than  to  consecrate  them  to  irre- 
ligion,  immorality,  and  skepticism.  Under- 
stand me — I  lift  my  voice  for  Christianity,  not 
for  sectarianism.  I  regard  sectarianism  as 
disguised  skepticism;  it  doubts  the  truth;  it 
rends  the  seamless  garment;  it  is  a  whited 
sepulcher. 

Denominationalism  has  its  place  in  provi- 
dence, but  not  in  a  university.  Inside  the  uni- 
versity the  religious  convictions  of  every  stu- 
dent must  be  sacred.  The  different  Christian 
Churches  must  be  able  to  send  their  children 
here  without  endangering  either  their  faith 
or  their  virtue. 

IV.  The  Component  Parts  of  a  Uni- 
versity. 

These  may  be  briefly  sketched  as  the  agents 
and  the  instruments — 

I.  The  agents  comprise  the  individuals 
that  make  up  its  intelligent  force. 

[a)  The  trustees  precede  and  underlie  the 
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THE  UNIVERSITY 

other  agents.  la  the  simpler  forms  of  civili- 
zation and  in  more  genial  climes  a  solitary  old 
philosopher  sitting  in  the  shade  of  a  tree,  or 
wandering  by  the  banks  of  a  stream,  consti- 
tuted an  institution — a  university  in  a  very 
limited  range  of  the  idea,  and  a  very  poetical 
and  extended  use  of  the  word  philosopher. 
But  in  this  civilization  there  must  be  organ- 
ized and  actual  and  deathless  corporations, 
touching  all  sides  of  society  and  life.  This 
something  called  a  university  is  incorporated 
and  lodged  in  a  board  of  trustees.  This  board 
receives  power  and  funds  in  trust  for  educa- 
tional purposes.  They  do  their  work  through 
delegated  bodies  under  general  directions. 
They  commit  business  to  an  executive  com- 
mittee that  centers  around  an  agent.  They  do 
their  instruction  by  another  committee  known 
as  the  faculty  that  centers  around  the  presi- 
dent. The  trustees  are  no  small  part  of  a  uni- 
versity. They  may  be  open  to  advice  from  the 
president,  but  the  final  power  of  action  is  with 
them,  and  in  this  power  inheres  the  responsi- 
bility. If  the  university  fails,  they  are  to 
blame.  If  it  succeeds,  to  them  will  belong  the 
praise.  Their  committees  may  do  the  work, 
but  they  are  the  instruments  of  the  board. 
Another  fact  supporting  this  view  of  the  re- 

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ADDRESSES   ON   NOTA!]LE   OCCASIONS 

sponsibility  is  this.  The  final  force  under  God 
is  money.  With  money  competent  professors 
can  be  secured,  suitable  buildings  can  be 
erected,  and  all  helpful  and  needful  apparatus 
procured.  This  money  power  is  vested  in  the 
board.  They  must  then  be  men  who  know 
how  to  create  and  how  to  use  money.  They 
must  call  it  out  of  the  air,  or  dig  it  out  of  the 
earth,  or  pull  it  out  of  their  pockets,  or  resign. 
It  must  come  from  somewhere;  and  they  have 
no  more  right  to  hold  the  post  of  trustees  and 
not  furnish  the  funds  to  the  extent  of  their 
ability,  than  the  professors  have  to  hold  their 
places  and  not  do  the  teaching.  They  must  be 
men  of  courage  and  faith  and  ambition;  cour- 
age to  undertake  great  enterprises,  the  faith  of 
Columbus,  and  ambition  to  achieve  results 
worthy  of  this  age  and  of  this  latitude  and 
longitude.  The  first  question  is  money. 
Brothers,  this  we  must  create.  There  is  money 
enough  in  the  Church  and  in  the  patronizing 
territory.  We  are  to  command  it.  While  it  is 
an  honor  to  be  a  trustee,  it  is  more  than  honor, 
it  is  a  holy  trust  from  the  Church,  which  must 
be  met  under  her  supervision  and  under  the 
eye  of  God. 

{h)   Professors  are  an  indispensable  part 
of  a  university.    Tutors  and  instructors  may  do 

316 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

for  certain  work,  but  they  can  not  take  the 
place  of  professors.  He  must  be  a  man  with 
the  sixth  sense  that  will  help  him  always  in 
advance.  As  Melchizedek  met  Abraham  re- 
turning from  the  slaughter  of  the  kings  and 
blessed  him,  so  the  student  must  meet  the  pro- 
fessor returning  conqueror  from  advanced 
fields  and  so  constrained  to  bless  him.  He 
must  have  but  one  all-absorbing  purpose,  and 
that  his  work;  he  must  have  the  light  of  a  sin- 
gle eye;  he  must  have  the  vision  of  a  prophet, 
thus  to  surprise  the  secrets  of  the  king's  bed- 
chamber; he  must  have  the  scent  of  a  blood- 
hound, that  neither  rock  nor  air  and  hardly 
flood  can  foil,  thus  to  pursue  truth ;  he  must  be 
able  to  live  on  promises,  for  not  more  than 
once  or  twice  in  a  score  of  years  will  he  find  a 
kingly  germ.  Like  a  saint,  he  must  grow 
richer  as  he  declines  in  fortune.  Like  a  lu- 
natic, he  must  grow  happier  as  he  recedes  far- 
ther from  his  goal.  Like  gravity,  he  must  be 
incapable  of  wearying  and  sleepless  as  the  tall 
angels  around  the  throne.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  he  should  go  to  his  recitation-room,  like 
Neander,  with  a  servant  following  him  with 
his  pants ;  or  that  he  should  go  into  his  lecture- 
room,  like  Dempster,  with  his  collar  wrong 
side  before ;  nor  that  he  should  crush  his  hat  in 

317 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

his  desk  and  put  his  manuscript  on  his  head, 
like  Thomson.  But  should  any  of  these  things 
transpire,  the  man,  the  soul,  and  the  brain 
must  project  so  far  that  it  shall  fill  up  the 
omission. 

(r)  The  students  are  the  third  class  of 
agents.  The  ideal  student  never  comes,  the 
actual  student  is  what  we  want.  He  is  a  com- 
pound of  opportunity,  application,  and  ambi- 
tion. The  chief  element  in  this  part  of  the 
agency  is  numbers.  Then  out  of  a  thousand 
some  will  be  tall  enough  to  be  seen  round  the 
world.  This  tallest  one  fixes  the  reputation. 
This  question  of  numbers  is  largely  in  the 
reach  of  the  trustees.  It  is  under  the  great 
law  of  supply  and  demand.  Make  appoint- 
ments for  a  thousand  students,  and  soon  they 
will  crowd  into  your  halls.  It  is  like  any  busi- 
ness— the  great  fortunes  are  made  by  whole- 
sale dealers.  The  margins  in  real  estate  have 
been  on  acre  property.  You  can  handle  a 
large  Church  more  easily  than  a  small  one. 
You  can  handle  a  great  university  more  easily 
than  a  small  one. 

2.  The  instruments  onl}^  need  enumerating. 
Foremost  is  that  which  is  most  difficult  to 
command — money.  This  is  as  necessary  as 
air.     The  blessing  of  God  is  above  all  else; 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 

without  that  we  had  better  disband.  But  the 
blessing  of  God  is  a  fixed  factor.  He  comes 
into  all  open  hearts  and  upon  all  helpful  insti- 
tutions. God  is  all  right,  waiting  for  a  chance 
for  something  to  bless.  He  comes  upon  uni- 
versities as  certainly  as  water  seeks  the  sea. 
This  constant  factor  being  present,  the  first 
contingent  element  is  motiey.  There  can  be 
no  progress  without  it.  It  is  the  stimulus  of 
this  war.  But  it  should  always  be  remembered 
that  it  is  of  value  only  as  a  means  and  not  as 
an  end.  It  is  a  trust  fund — a  fund  in  trust 
for  an  object.  And  its  only  value  is  in  procur- 
ing the  appliances  for  that  object.  This  in- 
cludes buildings.  There  must  be  provision 
for  recitation  and  lecture-rooms  and  laborato- 
ries and  dissecting-room  and  observatories 
and  art  galleries  and  conservatories  and  muse- 
ums and  libraries  and  chapels  and  dormitories 
and  other  necessary  buildings — not  last  or 
least  among  which  is  an  American  gymna- 
sium. All  these  buildings  need  furnishing, 
and  this  includes  a  vast  amount  of  illustrative 
apparatus.  Where  in  the  haste  of  this  hour 
I  have  failed  in  asking,  the  deliberate  wisdom 
of  the  trustees  must  not  fail  in  giving.  Thus 
far  I  have  considered  some  of  the  reasons  for 
the  existence  of  the  university — the  work  she 

319 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

is  to  do,  the  spirit  in  which  she  is  to  do  it,  and 
her  component  parts.  Much  of  the  argument 
has  been  so  condensed  as  to  be  but  little  more 
than  a  table  of  contents.  Though  the  details 
have  hardly  been  touched,  yet  a  university  puts 
on  vast  proportions.  Only  God  can  measure 
the  privileges  and  the  responsibility. 

V.  What  the  Northwestern  University 
HAS  Already  Realized. 

We  can  not  avoid  asking  this  board  of  trus- 
tees, these  professors,  and  this  great  company 
of  friends,  What  has  the  Northwestern  done? 
Is  it  justifying  its  claims  to  university  honors? 
Let  me  pause  here  long  enough  to  say  that  my 
sympathies  are  with  weak  institutions  where 
noble  and  godly  men  are  toiling  and  starving 
in  the  interest  of  the  cause  of  God.  Know- 
ingly I  would  not  add  a  feather  to  their  bur- 
dens. I  only  ask  in  the  interest  of  young  men 
and  of  the  Church  that  confides  in  them,  that 
they  will  push  up  their  standards  to  the  high- 
est point,  and,  when  a  man  graduates,  that  he 
shall  have  had  a  full  chance.  An  institution 
has  a  right  to  be  a  college  even  if  it  has  but 
one  course  of  study,  but  one  idea;  more  than 
this,  it  has  a  right  to  be  a  university,  provided 

320 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

its  faith  sees  in  the  future  the  various  depart- 
ments of  instruction.  Institutions  are  usually 
born  both  young  and  small;  time  corrects  the 
first  mistake,  but  the  other  is  too  apt  to  become 
chronic.  I  pray  God  to  deliver  them  all  from 
this  calamity.  Every  institution  that  honestly 
does  its  work  helps  so  much.  Every  torch  and 
taper  helps  to  confound  the  darkness.  Yet  I 
must  ask,  Is  the  Northwestern  justifying  her 
university  honors?  In  reply,  I  will  only  state 
what  she  has  accomplished.  Her  history  is 
brief,  measured  by  the  pointers  of  the  clock. 
It  is  only  eighteen  years  since  she  opened  her 
doors  to  students.  There  are  other  measure- 
ments more  just  as  well  as  more  imposing. 
The  first  notable  accomplishment  was  being 
born.  There  is  hardly  a  State  in  the  Union 
that  has  not  great  institutions  whose  first 
trouble  is  in  failing  to  be  actually  born.  The 
Northwestern,  carried  for  years  in  the  brain 
of  the  president  of  trustees,  and  in  the  hope 
and  courage  of  the  men  I  s^ee  here  to-day,  came 
to  individuality  in  the  office  of  Judge  Good- 
rich, in  the  city  of  Chicago,  on  the  31st  day  of 
May,  1850.  She  was  consecrated  by  praying 
and  devout  men  to  the  cause  of  God,  and  from 
that  hour  has  been  pushing  steadily  up  into 
her  plans. 

21  321 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

2.  She  has  also  a  site.  Once  in  the  world, 
the  university  had  to  be  somewhere,  and  here 
she  has  been  for  years.  If  the  foresight  of  the 
founders  had  been  as  good  as  their  judgment 
and  experience,  they  would  not  have  gone  any- 
where else.  Here  all  things  converge.  Just 
out  of  the  great  city,  and  so  out  of  its  dust  and 
din  and  saloons  and  great  temptations,  yet  near 
enough  to  command  the  springs  of  being  and 
the  sinews  of  war,  we  are  in  the  center  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  continent  on  this  highway 
of  the  nations — in  this  great  valley  that  could 
feed  mankind  and  yet  shall  hold  populations 
by  the  hundred  millions.  Our  climate  is  cool 
enough  for  a  summer  watering-place.  Our 
little  city  is  both  healthful  and  accessible. 
Everything  in  the  site  is  realized. 

3.  Foundation.  This  means  in  all  depart- 
ments about  two  million  dollars.  The  ground 
has  grown  to  such  proportions  that  gravita- 
tion, shifting,  turns  toward  the  university.  It 
is  too  large  to  disintegrate.  It  has  now  the 
support  of  the  word  "to  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given." 

4.  The  professors  and  instructors  seem 
quite  respectable,  both  in  number  and  ability. 
Already  the  staff  contains  more  than  fifty  ex- 
perienced educators — men  cultured  and  expe- 

322 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

rienced  in  the  leading  institutions  of  America 
and  Europe. 

5.  The  departments  or  colleges  already  in 
vigorous  operation  or  inaugurated  this  anni- 
versary, are  the  first  indications  of  our  title. 
Foremost  is  the  college  of  literature  and  sci- 
ence with  a  full  corps  of  able  professors  and 
with  an  honorable  history  among  educational 
men  and  with  a  wide  variety  of  culture- 
courses. 

6.  Garrett  Biblical  Institute.  Resting  on 
a  distinct  foundation,  and  under  a  distinct 
board  and  separate  management  but  most  in- 
timate relations  and  interchange  of  work,  it  is 
to  the  university  all  that  could  be  asked  in  the- 
ology. It  gives  the  Church  work  of  the  high- 
est order. 

7.  The  Medical  Department  (the  Chicago 
Medical  College)  has  established  a  right  to 
first  rank  of  medical  schools  in  this  or  in  any 
land,  by  the  number  and  ability  of  its  profes- 
sors, by  the  extent  and  thoroughness  of  its  cur- 
riculum, by  the  genuineness  and  accuracy  of 
its  instructions,  and  by  the  variety  and  richness 
of  its  auxilaries. 

8.  The  College  of  Technology,  organized 
and  ordained  by  the  board  at  this  session,  starts 
out  with  liberal  appointments,  with  a  body  of 

323 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

eleven  professors  and  instructors,  and  with  all 
the  provisions  and  appliances  in  laboratories 
and  instruments  necessary  for  its  successful 
operation. 

9.  The  Preparatory  Department  also  de- 
serves mention.  Its  size,  the  vast  amount  of 
work  it  is  doing,  and  its  importance  in  its  re- 
lations to  all  the  other  departments,  make  it  in 
itself  in  many  respects  not  inferior  to  many 
institutions  of  the  land  with  much  higher 
titles. 

10.  The  Womans  College  is.  an  added 
grace  as  well  as  virtue.  Their  accommoda- 
tions and  achievements  entitle  them  to  large 
credit.  This  day  this  fair  daughter  of  the 
Church  comes  to  this  maternal  mansion,  raps 
gently  on  the  door,  and  behold!  the  door 
swings  round  on  its  hinges,  and  the  Woman's 
College  takes  her  seat  gracefully  among  the 
colleges  of  the  university.  She  comes  with  a 
good  dowry.  Now  the  homes  of  the  North- 
west can  feel  that  their  sons  and  daughters  are 
cared  for  in  our  literary  home.  This  is  a  vast 
and  significant  movement.  It  is  a  prophecy 
of  conquest. 

11.  It  is  our  privilege  to  chronicle  still  an- 
other department,  long  in  the  plan  of  the  uni- 
versity, indorsed  by  special  resolution  at  the 

324 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

meeting  that  organized  the  first  faculty, 
but  now  first  realized  as  a  fact.  It  is  an 
important  school  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
most  learned  and  honorable  profession — the 
Department  of  Law.  This  is  achieved  by  a 
union  with  the  University  of  Chicago,  thus 
dividing  the  expenses  and  increasing  their 
prospects.  I  hail  this  as  the  dawning  of  a  bet- 
ter day  in  the  relations  of  our  institutions.  I 
believe  the  dignity  and  force  of  this  law- 
school,  a  maid  nourished  by  two  mothers,  will 
justify  the  experiment. 

12.  The  Library  of  the  University  forms 
another  argument  in  vindication  of  our  title. 
With  the  largest  library  west  of  the  Hudson 
River,  and  an  actual  annual  income  for  the 
library  already  surpassing  that  of  any  college 
or  university  in  this  country,  and  with  funds 
so  adjusted  and  secured  as  in  four  or  five  years 
to  double  the  present  income,  and  with  pro- 
visions just  ordered  for  handling  this  force,  the 
library  seems  to  us  a  department  of  no  mean 
proportions. 

13.  The  Museum,  containing  more  than 
ten  thousand  specimens  selected  with  special 
reference  to  use  for  instruction,  is  another  in- 
dication. It  is  rich  in  typical  specimens  of 
the  large  groups  of  animals  and  plants.    The 

325 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

national  reputation  of  the  scholar  who  is  the 
living  soul  of  this  large  collection.  Professor 
Marcy,  now  dean  of  the  College  of  Technol- 
ogy, explains  its  completeness  in  every  depart- 
ment of  natural  history. 

14.  Here  must  be  added  cabinets  and  con- 
servatories of  art  and  music. 

15.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  six 
large  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  scholars — • 
four  of  which  are  equaled  by  but  few  other 
educational  edifices  in  America. 

16.  The  fullness  of  our  courses  of  study 
and  the  thoroughness  of  its  work  in  every  de- 
partment— on  this  group  of  colleges  and  this 
foundation,  and  these  faculties  of  instruction, 
and  these  honorable  actualities  I  base  our  de- 
fense and  rest  our  case  before  the  bar  of  public 
judgment. 

VI.  What  are  the  Wants  and  Resources 
OF  THE  University? 

The  first  want  is  to  develop  the  existing  de- 
partments. We  have  been  foundation  laying. 
The  trustees  have  been  toiling  on  patiently  un- 
derground; they  have  planned  deeply  and 
widely.  The  basis  is  certain.  The  time  has 
come  to  push  forward  to  larger  results.  The 
Church  has  intrusted  us  with  great  interests 

326 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

and  opportunities,  and  she  will  not  allow  us 
to  return  the  intrusted  talents  without  increase 
— she  has  a  right  to  demand  fruit.  She  has 
found  that  of  her  children  committed  to 
schools  outside  of  the  positive  religious  in- 
fluence she  received  back  into  her  bosom  and 
for  her  use  less  than  one-third  of  one  per  cent. 
Not  one  in  three  hundred  have  come  back 
to  her  with  the  fruits  and  culture  needed  for 
her  use.  She  is  aware  of  this,  and  now  de- 
mands of  religious  institutions  such  energy 
and  activity  as  shall  furnish  her  with  skilled 
workmen.  This  involves  more  professorships, 
more  assistants  to  chairs  already  filled  and 
overworked.  It  involves  more  buildings,  such 
as  dormitories,  libraries,  observatories,  chap- 
els, and  gymnasiums.  There  is  no  reason  for 
rest  or  doubt.  As  I  see  it,  we  are  in  the  pass, 
the  strategical  point  which  must  be  held. 
Christian  culture  can  not  surrender  this  point. 
Yonder  is  the  amazement  of  the  civilized 
world — a  city  built  in  a  day,  burned  in  a  night, 
and  rebuilt  in  an  hour.  In  this  community 
absolutely  nothing  is  impossible.  Any  great 
manly  enterprise  that  comprehends  the  future 
and  embraces  the  interests  of  the  people  in 
that  latitude  never  lacks  defenders.  It  is  only 
the  timid  that  are  routed;  ships  are  wrecked 

327 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

on  shoals  and  coasts,  not  often  on  the  open  sea. 
With  this  stout  hulk  and  well-laid  beam  and 
live-oak  knees  we  have  nothing  to  fear  but 
fear.  Our  resources  are  not  easily  computed. 
The  basis  or  the  actual  body  of  our  resources 
is  easily  comprehended;  but  outside  of  these 
eighteen  or  twenty  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  there  are  other  forces  not  a  whit  less 
actual,  though  less  measurable.  There  are  our 
graduates,  no  small  force,  all  believing  in  us, 
all  sending  here  their  representatives.  Be- 
yond these  is  that  shadowy  something  called 
public  sentiment;  that  atmosphere  that  fills  the 
public  eye  and  the  popular  lungs.  This  is  no 
inconsiderable  force.  It  is  the  support  of  the 
workers,  for  no  man,  however  great  the  girth 
of  his  brain  or  chest,  can  do  anything  without 
an  atmosphere.  That  is  what  ails  France  and 
Spain  to-day.  There  is  too  much  oxygen  in 
the  air  for  the  health  of  the  despots,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  society  there  is  too  much  carbonic 
acid  gas  for  the  health  of  free  institutions. 
Public  sentiment  is  the  third  house.  You  may 
improve  and  direct  it,  but  you  can  not  dis- 
pense with  it  or  resist  it.  Institutions,  like  gar- 
ments, must  fit  the  spirit  and  mind  of  the  age. 
Fitting  thus  they  are  as  omnipotent  as  the  tide 
of  history.     Once  in  league  with  events,  and 

328 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

triumph  is  only  a  question  of  time.  Look  at 
this  great  Northwest,  teeming  with  the  life 
and  energy  of  ail  lands,  and  see  our  field. 
Look  at  yonder  city  blazing  at  one  end  and  re- 
building at  the  other;  sending  in  the  same  mes- 
sage the  news  of  the  loss  of  old  millions  and 
orders  for  new  millions;  striking  speechless, 
and  so  beyond  protest,  the  timid  and  hesitat- 
ing, commanding  as  by  absolute  authority  the 
approval  of  the  wisest  judgment  and  adding 
spurs  and  wings  to  the  progressive  and  great 
fortunes  to  the  dauntless.  Look  at  yonder  city 
and  take  your  keynote.  This  is  the  age  of 
great  enterprises.  Wooden  shoes  and  ox- 
teams  have  passed  away.  We  ride  on  the 
morning  light,  and  whisper  in  every  human 
ear  with  one  breath  like  the  kinsmen  and  heirs 
of  the  Infinite.  We  marshal  soldiers  by  the 
millions;  we  build  railroads  by  the  thousand 
miles ;  we  go  to  war  in  palace  cars ;  we  fight 
great  battles  in  the  war  offices,  thousands  of 
miles  from  the  smoke  of  the  battle,  and  order 
on  maps  and  by  telegraph  each  charge  and 
change.  This  age  does  everything  on  the  most 
magnificent  scale,  whether  it 's  to  settle  a  wil- 
derness or  control  a  government.  There  is  no 
advantage  for  small  enterprises.  In  the  field 
of  education  men  invest  in  great  movements, 

329 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  the  spirit  of  the  age  is  seen  in  great  gifts. 
In  the  year  1871,  $8,435,990  were  given  to  this 
cause  by  a  few  men.  Two  men  gave  over  a 
million  each,  and  twenty-three  men  gave  over 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  each.  I  rejoice 
that  our  friends  are  inspired  with  this  spirit, 
as  seen  in  the  new  departments  which  the  trus- 
tees have  this  week  launched  for  an  endless 
voyage. 

The  day  that  New  England  crowded  the 
summit  of  Bunker  Hill  to  see  the  monument 
founded  and  hear  Daniel  Webster,  the  multi- 
tude swayed  up  toward  the  platform  till  those 
in  front  were  nearly  crushed.  The  marshal 
ordered  the  crowd  back,  when  the  cry  came  up 
from  the  multitude:  "It  can  not  be  done.  It 
is  impossible."  When  Webster,  stepping  to 
the  front,  said:  "Nothing  is  impossible  on 
Bunker  Hill;"  and  before  the  motion  of  his 
hand  the  crowd  surged  back.  Standing  here 
this  hour,  and  in  the  faces  of  the  men  of  the 
Northwest,  I  say  that  "Nothing  is  impossible 
on  this  soil."  The  age,  the  latitude,  the  pat- 
ronage, and  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise 
make  success  almost  as  certain  as  it  is  neces- 
sary. The  university  rises  before  us  in  distinct 
outlines.  A  figure  of  power  and  of  beauty,  the 
daughter  of  the  Church  and  of  our  civiliza- 

330 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

tion,  she  stands  among  our  free  institutions  to 
preserve  our  common  schools  from  stagnation 
and  poverty;  to  multiply  our  inventions  and 
perfect  our  machinery;  to  stimulate  our  indus- 
trial and  augment  our  productive  powder;  to 
develop  mines  and  command  their  precious 
treasures ;  to  deepen  our  channels  and  lengthen 
our  rivers;  to  improve  our  thoroughfares  and 
increase  our  transporting  capacity;  to  dredge 
our  harbors  and  signal  our  coasts  and  illumine 
our  cities;  to  save  our  ballot-box  from  bru- 
tality and  our  juries  from  bribery;  to  deliver 
our  courts  from  partisanism  and  our  legisla- 
tive halls  from  corruption;  to  protect  our  sick 
chambers  from  empiricism  and  our  bar  from 
venality;  to  exalt  our  reasons  above  skepticism 
and  our  faith  above  superstition — thus  I  see 
her,  with  the  beauty  of  the  morning  on  her 
cheek  and  the  glory  of  eternity  on  her  brow, 
quickening  our  sons  and  daughters  into  kings 
and  queens  by  the  light  of  her  eye,  by  the  in- 
spiration of  her  smile  and  the  fragrance  of  her 
presence.  Coming  into  this  work  I  have  little 
to  say  that  is  personal.  I  stand  among  my 
friends.  I  could  not  tell  you  anything  new, 
for  I  have  been  in  your  midst  ever  since  I  was 
here  as  a  student.  I  am  here  by  choice  and 
with  the  fullest  approval  of  my  judgment.     I 

331 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

have  no  other  work  or  ambition  than  to  do  at 
my  best  the  work  given  me  in  the  order  of 
Providence.  I  expect  success,  for  I  am  sur- 
rounded, as  I  know,  by  a  faculty  of  wise  and 
prudent  counselors,  and  sustained  by  a  board 
of  trustees  whose  character  years  ago  I  learned 
to  emulate,  and  I  know  that  God  always  lives 
and  gives  wisdom  to  them  that  ask.  He  knows 
my  needs  and  that  I  cling  to  Him.  I  hesitate 
to  put  on  a  mantle  worn  by  such  men  as  Hin- 
man,  Foster,  and  Haven — men  whose  names 
fill  the  Church;  and  I  am  oppressed  with  a 
care  of  the  youth.  They  are  in  my  heart  as 
if  they  were  my  own  sons  and  daughters.  My 
best  advice  and  time  shall  be  given  to  them 
individually.  This  care  shall  be  the  last  neg- 
lected. As  I  enter  the  solemn  responsibility  I 
implore  the  prayers  of  the  Church  and  the 
blessing  of  Almighty  God. 


332 


THE  FIRST  CONFERENCE 

AND 

EARLY  METHODISM  IN  PHILA- 
DELPHIA 


Delivered  in   Philadelphia,  July  16,  18^3,  on  the  centen- 
nial celebration   of  the   founding  of   St.   George's 
Methodist     Episcopal     Church,     the     first 
Methodist  Church  in  Philadelphia. 


333 


THE  FIRST  CONFERENCE 

AND 

EARLY  METHODISM  IN  PHILA- 
DELPHIA 

The  Old  Napoleon  asked  the  sculptor 
Canova  how  long  his  best  statue  could  en- 
dure. The  sculptor  replied:  "Protected  and 
kept  from  accident,  possibly  six  thousand 
years."  "That  will  not  do,"  replied  the  "Lit- 
tle Corporal,"  walking  out  with  his  hands 
clasped  behind  him.  As  he  passed  through 
the  door  he  said :  "I  must  have  something  that 
will  last  longer  than  that."  This  is  a  voice 
from  the  universal  consciousness.  We  shove 
out  from  the  shore  of  to-day  and  confidently 
steer  for  the  day  after  to-morrow.  Men  are 
never  wanting  to  lead  the  forlorn  hope,  pro- 
vided its  march  is  down  the  centuries.  For 
one,  I  want  to  go  on  record  as  desiring  for 
every  youth  some  purpose,  some  ambition  that 
hews  away  at  Fate,  determined  to  make  a  foot- 
ing in  her  uncrumbling  walls.  Speech  and 
conscience  and  ambition  are  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  the  human  animal.     Only 

335 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  sheep  and  the  camel  and  mere  animals  are 
content  with  food  and  shelter.  The  fabled 
warrior  who  brushed  all  resistance  from  be- 
fore his  arrow  and  whispered  to  his  bow,  "Fail 
not,"  and  to  his  arrow,  "Stop  not,"  and  so 
sent  it  round  the  world,  did  but  twang  the 
bow  of  the  brain  and  speed  the  tireless 
thought.  He  stands  forth,  the  common  type 
of  man.  Beneath  him  you  will  find  beasts, 
above  him  God.  It  is  one  of  the  touching 
pictures  of  the  holy  oracles  where  the  saved 
one,  in  the  wealth  of  her  affection,  breaks  the 
costly  vase  and  pours  forth  the  precious  oint- 
ment, while  the  Infinite  Economist  commends 
the  waste,  bidding  the  rare  fragrance  to  float 
into  all  atmospheres  and  to  all  generations, 
saying,  "This  shall  be  a  memorial  of  her 
wherever  this  gospel  may  come."  On  this 
supreme  authority  I  rest  the  case,  and  say  to 
all  souls :  "Add  wings  and  spurs  to  your  speed. 
Let  your  noble  deeds  fill  all  ages  with  re- 
sounding praise."  I  stand  by  the  monuments 
of  the  mighty  dead  with  unsandaled  feet  and 
uncovered  head,  and  gladly  prolong  their 
praise. 

The  Past  is  the  depository  of  all  that 
has  been.  It  may  seem  a  sepulcher  full 
of   dead   men's   bones,   yet   it   holds    the    re- 

336 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

suits  achieved  by  all  the  great  workers.  It 
furnishes  all  the  ladders  on  which  we  mount 
to  new  discoveries.  We  can  only  build  on 
more  ancient  foundations  with  materials 
which  we  inherit.  The  Past  often  seems 
slow  and  conservative.  It  travels  in  the 
tedious  coach  or  on  foot.  It  patiently  waits 
for  low  water  to  uncover  the  fords.  It  clam- 
bers up  the  mountain  stream  searching  for  the 
crest.  It  pushes  into  the  forest  on  the  trail  of 
the  wild  game.  It  descends  the  farther  slope 
with  the  devices  of  the  trapper.  It  struggles 
on  to  power  under  every  disadvantage.  It 
cultivates  continents  without  implements, 
builds  cities  without  tools,  and  conducts  vast 
wars  without  weapons.  It  founds  great 
schools  without  books,  develops  high  civiliza- 
tions without  newspapers,  and  carries  on  vast 
commerce  without  ships.  In  grappling  with 
this  huge,  sinewy,  tireless,  old-time  giant,  we 
need  to  be  wise  as  the  serpent,  swift  as  the 
morning,  and  bold  as  Providence.  The  great 
Past  comes  to  us  rich  with  experiments,  wise 
with  experience,  full  of  victories  and  heroism. 
So  I  turn  to  it  for  a  lamp.  I  sit  at  its  feet  as 
at  the  feet  of  a  great  teacher,  and  I  accept  the 
living  present  as  its  pupil  and  offspring. 

Not  the  lightest  of  our  obligations  is  the 

22  337 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

commemoration  of  its  greatness.  Our  wealth 
consists  of  the  toil  of  the  workers,  the  thought 
of  the  thinkers,  the  songs  of  the  singers,  and 
the  creations  of  the  gifted  ones  that  have 
wrought  themselves  into  human  history.  I 
join  with  this  goodly  company  and  with  the 
greater  multitude  looking  this  way,  in  cele- 
brating the  achievements  of  the  men  who  gath- 
ered here  a  hundred  years  ago,  feeling  that 
this  may  be  a  tribute  of  gratitude  as  accept- 
able to  God  as  frankincense  and  myrrh.  For 
it  is  meet  and  proper  to  render  honor  to  whom 
honor  is  due. 

Great  events  and  great  men  are  God's 
chosen  teachers.  Events  show  us  the  hinges 
on  which  history  swings  round  to  larger  apart- 
ments. Men  show  us  the  hands  that  do  this 
swinging.  The  dead  monotony  of  animal  his- 
tory may  be  written  on  the  meadow  and  on  the 
mountain-side,  in  the  hieroglyphics  of  nature, 
but  God's  great  truths  come  to  us  incarnated. 
They  are  concreted  in  living,  loving,  God- 
anointed,  God-smitten,  kingly  men.  Indeed, 
any  truth  to  make  its  way  to  the  front  must 
have  elbows.  It  must  sparkle  in  the  brain  and 
burn  in  the  heart  of  some  great  man.  It  must 
have  a  human  heart  with  which  to  throb  it- 
self into  other  hearts,  and  human  hands  with 

338 


EARLY  METHODISM  IN   PHILADELPHIA 

which  to  lay  hold  of  other  hands.  This  makes 
great  men  a  necessity.  In  our  subject  we  have 
both  these  providential  teachers. 

There  were  assembled  here  in  those  early 
years  a  little  band,  few  in  numbers,  poor  in 
this  world's  goods,  chiefly  untrained  in  this 
world's  schools,  unsustained  by  this  world's 
social  order,  unadorned  by  this  world's  phi- 
losophy, but  they  were  rich  in  faith,  pure  in 
heart,  heroic  in  purpose,  inflamed  with  heav- 
enly zeal,  and  in  league  with  events.  Their 
names  are  worth  man}^  repetitions.  Hear 
them!  Thomas  Rankin,  Richard  Boardman, 
Joseph  Pilmoor,  Francis  Asbury,  Richard 
Wright,  George  Shadford,  Thomas  Webb, 
John  King,  Abraham  Whitworth,  and  Joseph 
Yearbry.  There  came  after  them  such  men 
as  John  Dickins  and  Richard  Whatcoat  and 
Ezekiel  Cooper  and  John  Summerfield,  a 
mighty  host.  It  is  not  strange  that  Methodism 
took  deep  root  in  this  soil.  This  is  the  hand- 
ful of  corn  on  the  mountain  that  now  waves 
like  the  cedars  of  Lebanon. 

We  can  not  justly  pass  this  hour  without  a 
glance  at  these  men.  I  wish  I  could  take  you 
into  a  gallery  and  show  you  their  faces.  But 
I  can  not.  Some  of  them  do  not  appear  much 
anywhere  except  in  the  Minutes  of  this  First 

339 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Conference.  We  can  track  some  of  them 
through  one  or  two  circuits  into  location  and 
so  into  obscurity.  The  first  group  were  all 
Europeans,  all  had  the  chief  characteristics  of 
missionaries.  They  were  of  another  land, 
though  not  of  another  tongue.  They  were  of 
other  habits  and  sympathies.  They  were  mon- 
archists by  prejudice  and  education,  and 
Tories  by  sympathy.  They  were  unable  to 
read  events,  and  returned  to  England.  By 
their  departure  they  blessed  the  Colonies  and 
American  Methodism.  Most  of  them,  except 
Asbury  and  possibly  Webb,  were  only  average 
men  and  soon  accomplished  their  work  and 
dropped  out  of  sight.  Human  annals  fail  to 
do  them  great  honor.  Our  hope  for  them  is 
that  God's  great  book  makes  no  mistakes. 
They  sowed  for  this  spiritual  and  eternal  har- 
vest, and  are  not  disappointed  in  reaping  what 
they  sowed.  One  is  surprised  at  the  short  term 
of  service  rendered  by  our  early  itinerants, 
two  or  three  years;  only  a  few  endured  five 
years. 

Curiosity  might  like  to  put  them  on  the 
scales  and  see  how  they  fed  and  what  came  of 
it;  put  them  before  the  camera  and  catch  their 
every  feature  and  expression.  We  might  be 
pleased  with  their  census  history.     But  after 

340 


EARLY  METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

all  it  is  of  infinitely  more  value  to  us  to  know 
what  they  did.  Once  history  was  an  account 
of  the  sayings  and  diseases  of  a  few  royal  ba- 
bies. It  was  filled  with  the  narration  of  the 
most  insignificant  events  in  the  lives  of  the 
most  insignificant  princes,  who  had  neither 
wit,  learning,  courage,  nor  achievement, 
whose  whole  claim  to  notice  rested  on  the 
fact  that  they  were  nursed  by  the  hirelings  of 
royalty  and  kept  in  indolence,  ignorance,  inac- 
tivity, and  vice.  But  now  history  has  more 
to  do  with  the  people,  with  the  elements  of 
civilization,  with  the  principles  that  govern 
them,  with  the  motives  that  inspire  them,  with 
the  forces  they  have  subjugated,  with  the 
science  they  have  mastered,  with  the  institu- 
tions they  have  founded,  and  with  varied  lib- 
erties they  have  maintained.  So  in  this  work 
we  need  not,  even  if  we  could,  enter  into  the 
census  story  of  these  men.  Their  lives  are 
the  common  lives  of  men  in  their  work.  Go 
to  your  parsonage  and  see  them  for  yourself, 
modified  only  with  the  times,  relatively  the 
same.  Their  chief  distinction  was  their  faith 
in  God  and  in  Wesley  and  in  their  having  oc- 
cupied space  here  in  that  long-ago  time. 

George    Shadford    joined    the    Traveling 
Connection  in  1768,  came  to  this  country  in 

341 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

1773,  was  stationed  four  months  in  New  York 
City.  That  was  as  long  as  preachers  were 
trusted  among  such  advantages  or  temptations 
in  those  early  times.  The  year  following  the 
Conference  of  1773  he  was  the  instrument  used 
in  bringing  into  the  Church  more  than  two 
hundred  souls.  Hostilities  between  the 
Mother  Country  and  the  Colonies  drove  him 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  English  preachers,  ex- 
cept Mr.  Asbury,  from  the  country.  He  died 
in  1 8 16.  He  was  modest,  retiring,  yet  bold 
and  always  successful.  He  was  gentle  as  a 
lamb  and  always  sweet  tempered.  He  was  oil 
on  the  troubled  waters  of  the  First  Conference. 
Joseph  Pilmoor  joined  the  Traveling  Con- 
nection in  1768,  was  sent  to  America  in  1769. 
Flis  letters  to  John  Wesley  give  us  good  in- 
sight into  the  state  of  the  infant  Church.  He 
preached  in  New  York  City,  Philadelphia, 
Norfolk,  Virginia;  and  in  North  Carolina. 
He  was  studious,  ambitious,  selfish,  and  cold. 
Returned  to  England  to  be  disappointed  by 
not  being  either  put  in  charge  of  the  Ameri- 
can work,  or  put  into  the  Loyal  Hundred  of 
the  Home  Church.  Under  the  sting  of  this 
disappointment  he  returned  to  America  and 
joined  the  Episcopal  Church.  Be  it  said  to 
his  credit  that  he  always   retained  a  hearty 

342 


EARLY  METHODISxM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

sympathy  for  the  itinerants.  He  was  tall,  dig- 
nified, and  in  old  age  quite  stately.  He  was 
a  preacher  of  rare  gifts  and  good  culture. 
Was  made  a  D.  D.  by  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Richard  Boardman  joined  the  Traveling 
Connection  in  1763.  Was  sent  to  America  in 
1769,  returned  in  1778,  died  in  1810.  He 
w^as  pious,  simple,  earnest,  gifted,  and  had 
large  common  sense.  Was  stationed  in  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York.  Went  through 
Northeast,  stopping  in  Boston  in  1772.  But 
the  way  was  not  open  there  then. 

We  find  in  this  list  the  name  of  Thomas 
Rankin.  This  man  came  near  wrecking  the 
Church.  But  by  the  over-ruling  of  Provi- 
dence only  good  came  out  of  his  well-meant 
but  ill-timed  work.  He  came  to  America  in 
1773,  and  was,  on  account  of  his  age,  ap- 
pointed General  Assistant,  in  the  place  of 
Francis  Asbury.  He  returned  to  England  in 
1778,  and  died  in  18 10.  He  was  Scotch  in 
descent  and  English  in  character.  He  had  all 
the  high  notions  of  authority  that  marked  Mr. 
Wesley's  actions.  He  issued  his  orders  with- 
out explanation  or  reason.  Whatever  would 
not  bend  must  break.  Mr.  Asbury,  with 
greater  will  power,  had  also  greater  wisdom. 

343 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

He  gladly  resigned  his  responsibilities  into 
Mr.  Rankin's  hand,  but  he  soon  chafed  under 
the  rule  of  a  man  who  understood  neither  the 
age  nor  the  Colonies.  The  gathering  storm 
of  the  Revolution  was  about  to  burst  upon 
the  country.  Rankin,  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  Colonies  and  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with 
royalty,  drew  the  lines  with  an  unflinching 
purpose.  But  God  had  wiser  plans  for  Amer- 
ica and  His  cause  than  either  Wesley  or  Ran- 
kin comprehended.  The  news  from  Lexing- 
ton and  Bunker  Hill  threw  the  molding  and 
guiding  of  the  Church  into  the  hands  of  As- 
bury,  the  only  hands  that  were  able  to  do  it 
successfully,  and  made  large  room  for  the 
great  Apostle  of  American  Methodism. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Rankin  was, 
after  all,  of  great  value  in  establishing  and 
maintaining  discipline.  He  brought  over  the 
purely  English  views  of  Church  order,  and  he 
hewed  to  this  line  regardless  of  consequences. 
Out  of  this  rule  came  a  certain  sternness  and 
grandeur  of  character  that  permeated  the  en- 
tire membership  and  secured  the  highest  esprit 
de  corps.  While  Mr.  Rankin,  remaining, 
could  only  have  ruined  the  cause  in  the  new- 
born nation  still  struggling  against  Toryism 
for  existence,  his  short  administration  com- 

344 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

pacted  the  societies  where  it  did  not  react  se- 
riously. 

As  we  ascend  the  line  of  these  worthies,  we 
come  to  a  strange  character  seated  in  this  first 
Council.  His  military  uniform  and  ever  pres- 
ent sword,  first  catch  our  eye.  There  he  sits, 
large,  genial,  peculiar.  A  patch  over  one 
eye  covers  a  scar  of  honor.  His  face  glows 
and  gleams  as  the  discussions  advance  and  the 
plans  mature.  This  is  Captain  Thomas  Webb. 
His  history  is  brief.  Wounded  on  the  Heights 
of  Abraham,  where  the  gallant  Wolfe  fell,  he 
is  retired  with  captain's  full  pay.  In  1765  he 
received  another  wound  from  the  Heavenly 
Archer  under  the  preaching  of  John  Wesley. 
Born  fully  into  the  Kingdom,  he  gives  him- 
self to  the  despised,  penniless,  and  persecuted 
sect.  Providentially  crowded  into  the  min- 
istry at  Bath,  England,  he  works  successfully 
in  winning  souls.  Moved  to  Albany  on  the 
Hudson,  his  house  becomes  a  temple  and  his 
family  altar  a  pulpit  by  the  magnetism  of  his 
character  and  the  genuineness  of  his  soul. 
Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  society  in 
New  York  by  Philip  Embury  and  Barbara 
Heck,  the  good  captain  makes  his  appear- 
ance to  head  the  subscription  for  the  first 
Methodist  Church  on  the  continent.     Giving, 

345 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

working,  preaching,  he  becomes  a  tower  of 
strength.  "Captain  Webb,  Gentleman,"  looms 
up  among  the  poor  laborers  and  colored  serv- 
ants, among  whom  the  cause  first  took  root  in 
this  country.  To  him  belongs,  also,  the  honor 
of  introducing  Methodism  into  this  great  city 
of  machinery  and  brotherly  love.  By  his  per- 
sonal representation  and  arguments  and  lib- 
erality the  Mother  Church  was  induced  to 
send  ministers  and  aid  to  the  Colonies.  It  was 
fitting  that  he  should  appear  in  this  First  Con- 
ference. Wesley  called  him  "a  man  of  fire." 
Asbury  always  expected  victory  from  him. 
The  elder  Adams,  attending  the  Continental 
Congress  in  1774,  heard  him  preach  and  pro- 
nounced him  ''one  of  the  most  fluent  and  elo- 
quent men  he  ever  heard."  It  is  hard  to  do 
justice  to  such  a  character.  Brave,  resolute, 
progressive,  he  seemed  impatient  at  delay  and 
unable  to  endure  timidity  or  half-heartedness. 
He  was  eccentric,  but  he  revolved  about  a 
fixed  point,  the  Cross.  Often  he  seemed  to 
have  broken  away  on  a  tangent,  but  give  him 
room  enough  and  time  enough,  and,  like  a 
comet,  he  always  came  back  in  good  order, 
with  trophies  for  his  Master  and  encourage- 
ment for  his  friends.  In  no  small  way  he 
represented  and  embodied  the  early  Metho- 

346 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

dism  of  America.  Wearing  the  uniform  of 
this  world's  power  and  the  scars  of  this  world's 
glory,  with  his  sword  by  his  side  and  his 
Greek  Testament  in  his  pocket,  telling  his  ex- 
perience and  singing  the  songs  of  redemption, 
he  was  no  mean  apostle  of  a  cause  that  had  to 
make  a  landing  on  a  hostile  shore,  with  less 
shelter  than  the  birds  and  foxes,  with  no  pil- 
low softer  than  Jacob's,  with  no  supplies 
larger  than  a  raven's  gift,  and  with  no  home 
but  the  desert,  no  hope  but  heaven,  and  no 
friend  but  God.  He  belonged  to  that  army 
of  heroes  who  were  taken  out  of  the  victories 
and  the  honors  of  this  world's  campaigns  and 
set  on  higher  war  and  more  eternal  renown. 
Actual  men  they  were,  clothed  in  the  raiment 
of  every-day  life,  and  experienced  in  the 
shocks  of  the  common  strife,  but  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  commissioned  by  the 
Eternal  King,  their  work  has  the  seal  of 
heaven  and  their  memories  the  fragrance  of 
immortality.  Captain  Thomas  Webb  in  the 
First  Conference  stands  for  a  great  factor  in 
American  Methodism.  He  was  a  layman. 
Philip  Embury,  a  layman,  was  in  at  the  birth 
of  American  Methodism  in  New  York.  Rob- 
ert Strawbridge,  a  layman,  planted  Metho- 
dism in  Maryland,  which  contends  for  pri- 

347 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ority  over  New  York.  Captain  Webb  founded 
Methodism  in  this  great  city. 

The  laymen  ordered  the  itinerancy.  They 
told  Bishop  Asbury  that  they  would  receive 
his  preachers  if  he  would  take  them  away  in 
three  months.  The  itinerancy  consists  not  in 
the  length  of  the  time,  but  in  the  power  to 
change  the  appointments.  It  has  survived  the 
changes  of  time  from  three  months  to  four 
months,  to  one  year,  to  two  years,  to  three 
years.  So  I  predict  that  it  will  survive  the 
removal  of  the  limit.  Let  us  go  slow,  trust 
God,  and  read  events. 

American  Methodism,  like  English  Wes- 
leyanism  (like  the  New  Testament  Church), 
seems  to  have  had  the  especial  care  of  Provi- 
dence. The  apostles  were  doubtless  chosen 
with  special  reference  to  their  natural  gifts 
and  characteristics.  Each  helped  to  supple- 
ment all  the  others  in  the  full  development  of 
the  truth.  Wesleyanism  was  early  equipped 
for  a  great  work.  Theodore  Parker  says: 
''Methodism  had  the  greatest  organizer,  John 
Wesley,  and  the  greatest  scholar,  Adam 
Clarke,  of  the  last  thousand  years."  He  might 
safely  have  added,  the  greatest  singer,  Charles 
Wesley,  and  the  greatest  saint,  John  Fletcher. 


348 


EARLY  METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

Such  a  group  secured  great  success  and  a  great 
history. 

American  Methodism  added  to  this  inher- 
itance all  that  it  needed  to  fit  it  to  the  wilder- 
ness into  which  it  dropped:  the  greatest  pi- 
oneer statesman,  Francis  Asbury;  the  greatest 
drillmaster,  Thomas  Rankin;  the  greatest  lit- 
erary and  theological  critic  of  that  time,  John 
Dickins,  and  the  most  eloquent  preacher  of 
that  time,  and  possibly  of  any  time,  John  Sum- 
merfield. 

Any  man  who  has  studied  the  needs  and 
shortcomings  of  the  Salvation  Army,  is  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  somewhat  the  important 
work  done  by  John  Dickins,  so  long  book 
steward  and  autocrat  of  our  publications.  He 
was  a  marked  scholar  for  that  time.  He  was 
trained  under  the  solid  old  drill  of  Latin, 
Greek,  and  mathematics.  Indeed,  one  is  safe 
in  saying  that  our  modern  university  develop- 
ments have  added  little,  if  anything,  to  the 
drill-power  of  these  old  studies.  To  train  for 
accurate  and  continuous  thinking,  mathemat- 
ics must  stand  at  the  head.  It  is  forever  find- 
ing the  point  of  intersection,  or  an  exact  equiv- 
alent. It  has  to  do  with  definite  certamties. 
It  has  little  room  for  guessing.     It  drills  in 


349 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

thinking  to  a  point.  Latin,  with  its  sentences 
like  Chinese  puzzles  that  can  go  together  only 
one  way,  requires  careful  thought,  but  it  is 
not  so  much  to  a  point.  It  asks  half  a  dozen 
questions  about  a  word  at  once,  and  thinks 
all  about  it.  Greek,  with  its  particles  hooking 
the  sentences  together  like  swivels,  demands 
much  thinking.  These  are  the  great  drill- 
masters  of  the  ages.  John  Dickins  inspired 
the  first  seminary,  that  materialized  in  Cokes- 
bury  College.  His  careful  classic  training 
and  methodical  habits  and  cultivated  taste 
were  great  blessings  to  American  Methodism. 
He  made  the  early  literature  worthy  the  name 
and  worth  studying.  The  great  Book  House 
of  Methodism,  the  greatest  in  the  world,  is 
the  natural  outcome  of  John  Dickins'  work. 
No  wonder  we  have  hundreds  of  colleges  and 
hundreds  of  papers. 

Ezekiel  Cooper  took  this  work  when  Dick- 
ins dropped  it  by  the  side  of  his  coffin,  and 
helped  to  make  this  Philadelphia  Methodist 
soil  rich  by  sowing  it  a  yard  deep  with  ideas. 

Another  class  find  here  their  representa- 
tives. These  are  the  men  who  work  a  little 
and  then  grow  weary  or  unacceptable,  and 
then  retire  from  the  work  and  plunge  into 
oblivion.    This  is  a  mighty  host  who  had  gift 

350 


EARLY  METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

enough  and  chance  enough  and  possibility 
enough  in  the  beginning  to  secure  a  call  from 
Him  who  makes  no  mistakes,  but  experiments 
upon  all  mere  chances,  trying  to  make  the 
most  of  all  men,  but  who,  through  indolence 
or  avarice,  backslide  and  forfeit  their  chance, 
miss  their  day  and  so  sink  into  uselessness, 
then  into  burdens,  then  into  obscurity,  and  so 
into  oblivion.  Of  this  great  host  that  clog 
the  wheels  of  the  Church,  hinder  the  work  of 
God,  and  make  religion  fit  to  be  rejected,  I 
can  only  say  I  am  glad  I  am  not  their  judge. 
I  can  pity  such  a  wreck  as  Whitworth,  who, 
caught  in  the  fiery  monsoon  of  hell,  was  hurled 
to  death.  But  these  creatures  who  cling  to  re- 
spectability and  beg  for  sympathy,  when  the 
industry  of  the  common  mechanic,  who  builds 
not  characters  but  only  houses,  would  make 
them  useful  and  honored  by  good  men  and 
angels — these  creatures  can  extort  from  me 
only  scorn  and  contempt.  They  are  dead  men 
standing  in  the  way  of  the  living.  The  worst 
thing  about  it  is  this,  they  do  not  know  enough 
to  know  that  they  are  dead.  What  a  pity  they 
would  not  tumble  over  into  their  graves! 
This  time  demands  living  men.  This  is  a 
mighty  age.  We  do  things  in  a  grand  way. 
Men  are  sinning  by  wholesale,  sin  is  outting 

351 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

on  all  defiance  and  using  all  weapons.  There 
is  no  alternative ;  we  must  arm  with  equal  skill 
and  power.  The  good  cause  languishes,  and 
God  waits  for  us  to  put  on  our  strength.  I 
believe  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  must 
stir  ourselves  as  ministers  even  more  than  ever 
before.  There  is  no  hour  for  rest  or  indolence. 
To  pause  is  to  be  trampled  by  the  mighty 
march  of  events.  Sleepless  vigilance,  unrest- 
ing activity,  are  the  conditions  of  usefulness 
in  the  ministry.  I  wish  I  could  cry  in  the 
ear  of  every  preacher  in  the  world,  ^'The  night 
Cometh!" 

I  find  among  these  early  men  good  speci- 
mens of  the  great  body  of  the  ministry.  I  ap- 
proach this  class  with  a  glad  heart.  I  never 
think  of  them  but  with  profoundest  admira- 
tion. I  regard  them  as  the  grandest  specimens 
of  the  race.  It  is  my  highest  ambition  to  be 
counted  worthy  of  their  companionship. 
They  are  men  of  the  finest  metal,  men  who 
see  life  as  a  great  opportunity  for  power  and 
wealth  and  aggrandizement,  who  see  most 
gorgeous  pictures  on  the  ever-moving  canvas 
of  the  future,  before  whom  Fame's  shining 
temple  stands  with  open  door,  men  whom  Am- 
bition calls  by  their  given  names,  as  if  they 
were  her  only  friends.    Yet  they  hear  a  voice 

352 


EARLY  METHODISAI   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

from  out  eternity  calling  to  denial,  to  duty, 
and  to  heroism,  and  though  it  blasts  every  am- 
bition, abandons  every  plan,  sweeps  away 
every  picture,  yet  they  obey  the  heavenly  call 
and  go  forth  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to 
minister,  to  be  the  faithful  servants  of  all,  and 
so,  in  the  fullest  service,  secure  the  Master's 
award  of  greatness.  These  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth.  These  are  the  men  that  keep  the  life 
in  the  world,  of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy. 
There  is  nothing  grander  than  one  of  these 
veterans,  counting  all  things  but  loss  for 
Christ,  taking  up  His  cross,  entering  into  His 
work,  making  up  what  is  behind  of  His  suf- 
fering, and  wearing  without  pride  or  disgrace 
the  honor  He  puts  upon  them  in  the  sight  of 
the  angels.  Poor,  nearly  always,  they  could 
not  be  otherwise.  They  seek  other  ends. 
They  live  on  half  pay  and  full  disappoint- 
ments. Learning  to  live  on  next  to  nothing, 
then  on  nothing,  then  on  less  than  nothing, 
with  full  heart  and  empty  hands  keeping  the 
wolf  from  the  door  and  educating  the  chil- 
dren, thus  they  journey,  rich  in  faith,  sweet  in 
temper,  charitable  in  spirit,  anxious  only  that 
the  cause  may  prosper.  I  see  these  men  who 
take  their  lives,  and,  harder  still,  their  fami- 
lies, in  their  hand,  and  go  forth  to  all  danger, 
23  353 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

endure  all  hardship,  and  rejoice  that  they  are 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  Christ,  and  the 
world  furnishes  no  nobler  heroes.  They  need 
no  Letters  Patent  to  ennoble  them;  they  be- 
long to  the  Peerage  of  the  Eternal  Kingdom. 
They  are  Peers  of  angels  and  principalities 
and  powers  and  dominions  of  heaven,  and  have 
God's  broad  patent  of  nobility.  Father  Tay- 
lor called  them  ''Camels  journeying  through 
a  desert  browsing  on  thistles  and  laden  with 
jewels."  Paul  thought  them  Christ's  slaves, 
crushed  with  the  sorrows  and  disabilities  of 
others,  and  ready  to  be  even  accursed  from 
Christ  for  the  salvation  of  the  endangered.  I 
think  them  genuine  Methodist  preachers,  and 
I  ask  no  greater  honor  than  to  share  their 
toils  and  join  in  their  triumphs.  They  are 
proof  of  immortality,  for  God  will  see  to  it 
that  they  receive  their  back  pay  amid  the 
shouts  of  victory  and  in  the  glory  of  heaven. 
Let  me  live  and  die  with  them! 

These  are  some  of  the  classes  that  met 
here  a  hundred  years  ago — great  leaders,  great 
laymen,  and  great  workers,  and  let  us  rise  to 
the  worth  of  our  inheritance. 

Towering  above  all  others,  like  Mount 
Washington  above  the  White  Hills,  we  be- 
hold Francis  Asbury.    I  hardly  know  how  to 

354 


EARLY  METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

approach  his  character  or  present  his  great- 
ness. Born  in  England  in  1745,  he  began  to 
preach  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  sent  a 
missionary  to  America  in  1771.  In  1774  the 
superintendency  of  the  Church  through  the 
troubled  times  of  the  Revolution  was  com- 
mitted to  him.  The  return  to  England  of  the 
regular  missionaries  left  him  almost  without 
an  adviser.  At  the  Christmas  Conference  of 
1784  he  was  elected  and  ordained  the  First 
Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
He  died  in  18 16.  It  does  not  disparage  any 
other  man  to  say  that  to  Asbury,  more  than 
to  any  other,  does  Methodism  in  America  owe 
its  character  and  power.  He  first  saw  the 
necessity  of  independence.  In  the  gathering 
gloom  of  the  Revolution  he  chose  the  perils 
of  fidelity  to  the  flock  committed  to  him, 
rather  than  safety  in  his  native  land.  Every- 
thing was  to  be  done.  Without  precedents, 
without  resources,  without  organization,  with- 
out schools,  without  church  edifices,  without 
Church  societies,  without  an  ordained  min- 
istry, without  the  sacraments  and  without  pub- 
lic sympathy,  he  was  thrown  into  the  sea  of 
revolution,  and,  single-handed,  suspected  on 
account  of  his  nativity,  persecuted  on  account 
of  his  faith,  hunted  on  account  of  his  fidelity, 

355 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

he  was  compelled  to  gather  the  scattered  frag- 
ments of  classes  into  societies,  to  modify  and 
combine  the  diverging  views  of  rebels  and  roy- 
alists, of  citizens  and  subjects,  to  restrain  those 
who  would  rush  through  individualism  and 
Congregationalism  into  irresponsibility  and  in- 
efficiency, to  liberate  those  who  bowed  in 
servile  submission  to  the  English  policy  of 
Wesley,  a  policy  which  deprived  the  Church  of 
organization  and  of  a  ministry,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  sacraments  and  of  a  home ;  and  to 
create  out  of  the  raw  materials  a  membership, 
a  ministry  to  care  for  them,  and  a  government 
to  perpetuate  them.  This  problem  was  to  be 
solved  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances. 
The  country  was  distracted  by  civil  war  and 
rendered  dangerous  by  contending  forces  and 
wandering  bands  of  marauders.  The  finances 
of  the  country  were  depressed  to  the  lowest 
point.  The  passions  of  the  people  were  in- 
flamed to  the  utmost.  The  public  mind  was 
turned  away  from  religion  to  slaughter  and 
from  righteousness  to  rapine.  The  friends  of 
Methodism  were  bound  by  deep-seated  con- 
victions to  the  customs  and  forms  of  the 
Mother  Country,  and  were  under  the  influence 
of  their  great  founder,  which  restrained  them 
from  this  only  chance  of  success.    Their  very 

356 


EARLY   METHODISAI   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

piety  was  thus  at  war  with  their  peace.  To 
be  religious  and  rise  to  a  conscientious  separa- 
tion from  Wesley,  was  asking  more  greatness 
and  more  statesmanship  than  could  reasonably 
be  expected  in  the  humble  ranks  of  the  mem- 
bership. They  were  bound  to  receive  the  sac- 
raments from  a  Church  hostile  to  their  expe- 
riences, hostile  to  their  patriotism,  and  hostile 
to  their  very  existence.  Trained  into  holy  rev- 
erence for  the  ceremonies,  it  took  mighty  faith 
to  comprehend  these  ceremonies  as  mere  hu- 
man conveniences.  In  a  land  measured  by  the 
thousand  miles,  scattered  over  territory  vast 
enough  for  a  score  of  empires,  traversed  by 
fordless  and  bridgeless  rivers,  by  mountain 
ranges  whose  only  passes  were  the  trails  of 
hostile  Indians,  with  no  communication 
swifter  than  the  saddle-beast,  with  leagues  of 
forest  penetrated  by  no  highways  wider  than 
a  bridle-path  that  hung  on  the  broken  bark 
of  the  trees,  with  a  population  scattered 
leagues  apart  in  the  wilderness — under  such 
circumstances  to  create  a  people,  a  general 
conviction,  a  ministry,  a  closely  compacted  sys- 
tem of  government  that  should  at  once  leave 
every  member  a  living  unit  and  still  make  the 
whole  Church  a  living  machine,  a  government 
giving  room  for  every  conviction  and  still  pre- 

357 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

serving  the  strength  of  one  purpose — this  re- 
quired the  most  varied  and  stupendous  gifts. 
There  were  needed  the  industry  of  the  freeman 
and  the  patience  of  the  slave,  the  wisdom  of 
the  statesman  and  the  prescience  of  the 
prophet,  the  zeal  of  the  advocate  and  the  de- 
liberation of  the  judge,  the  faith  of  the  saint 
and  the  sacrifice  of  the  martyr.  There  was 
needed  genius  to  invent,  courage  to  explore, 
and  assurance  to  wait.  There  was  needed  such 
a  combination  of  gifts  and  graces  as  has  sel- 
dom been  found  among  the  sons  of  Adam. 
Measured  by  the  difficulties  he  surmounted, 
by  the  plans  he  made  and  executed,  by  the 
statesmanship  he  exhibited,  by  the  leagues  he 
journeyed,  by  the  exposures  he  endured,  by 
the  dangers  he  confronted,  by  the  combina- 
tions he  secured,  and  by  the  things  he  caused 
to  come  to  pass,  measured  by  these  results 
Francis  Asbury  rises  before  us,  pre-eminently 
the  Apostle  of  American  Methodism.  He  was 
adapted  to  the  work  he  was  to  accomplish. 
The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  his  mind 
was  his  practical  sense.  He  saw  things  as  they 
are.  He  had  little  or  no  imagination.  He 
dealt  with  facts.  Though  he  often  seemed 
dull  of  faith  in  enterprises,  the  results  justified 
his  judgment.    Some  of  his  plans  swept  on  be- 

358 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

yond  the  wildest  fancy  of  the  most  ardent,  but 
his  convictions  were  deduced  from  an  actual 
knowledge  of  the  forces  in  the  field.  Thus  he 
saw  the  future  republic  and  the  coming 
Church,  when  our  statesmen  were  legislating 
for  the  Colonies  and  not  for  a  nation,  and  our 
soldiers  were  fighting  for  redress  and  not  for 
liberty. 

He  was  a  man  of  the  people.  Sent  to  the 
people,  his  culture  and  his  habits  fitted  him 
to  his  work.  By  choice  and  by  conviction  he 
carried  Methodism  out  of  the  cities  into  the 
country.  He  planted  it  in  all  the  valleys  and 
on  all  the  hillsides  of  the  accessible  continent. 
The  marvel  of  his  character  is  his  adaptation 
to  the  varied  circumstances  of  his  long  and 
eventful  life.  Everything  committed  to  him 
found  its  consummate  artificer.  See  him 
where  we  may,  yonder  in  the  great  Metrop- 
olis, visiting  from  house  to  house,  here  in  the 
first  Council,  rebuking  the  self-indulgence 
that  demanded  the  ease  of  the  cities,  and  re- 
sisting the  extremes  that  threatened  on  one 
side  to  demoralize  all  discipline,  and  on  the 
other  to  destroy  all  development,  or  yonder, 
sleeping  in  the  wigwam  of  the  hostile  savage, 
or  waiting  in  the  concealment  of  the  cypress 
swamp ;  or  yonder,  hunting  his  lonely  way, 

359 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

with  his  weary  horse,  from  cabin  to  cabin,  tell- 
ing to  the  emigrant  and  the  pioneers  the  story 
of  the  Cross  and  singing  everywhere  the  songs 
of  Zion;  or  yonder,  in  the  crisis  of  schism, 
when  the  Southern  Conference  was  resolved 
on  separation,  by  the  wisdom  of  his  plans  and 
the  moderation  of  his  words,  and  the  omnipo- 
tence of  his  agonizing  prayer,  bringing  them 
as  by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  humble  mind,  and 
wheeling  them  into  line  for  a  united  cam- 
paign against  sin;  or  yonder,  presiding  over 
the  Conferences,  inspiring  new  faith  in  the 
tired  itinerant  and  new  hope  in  the  discour- 
aged pilgrim;  see  him  wherever  we  may  and 
in  whatever  work,  as  missionary,  pastor,  exile, 
fugitive,  legislator,  administrator,  or  bishop, 
we  are  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  his  char- 
acter, the  simplicity  of  his  faith,  the  breadth 
of  his  plans,  the  strength  of  his  purpose,  the 
heroism  of  his  sacrifice,  and  the  vastness  of 
his  results. 

At  the  end  of  this  new  Evangel  stands  the 
one  supreme  spirit  representing  that  guiding 
genius  that  is  never  wanting  in  the  history  of 
successful  reform.  It  makes  holy  and  repre- 
sentative covenant  with  God,  ascends  the 
Mount  of  Sacrifice,  and  from  the  supreme  act 
of  faith  writes  its  name  in  history,  Abraham 

360 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

the  Father  of  the  FaithfuL  Again,  it  leads  the 
exodus  of  humanity  and  receives  the  divine 
commandments  and  revelations  and  writes  its 
name  in  history  Moses  or  Elijah.  Now  it  feels 
the  heavenly  inspiration,  sees  the  boundless- 
ness of  redeeming  love,  and  writes  its  name  in 
history  Paul  or  Luther.  Again,  it  hears  the 
divine  voice,  sees  the  perishing  multitudes, 
catches  the  martyr  spirit,  and  writes  its  un- 
fading name  in  history  Wesley  or  Asbury. 
Methodism  in  America,  like  all  ordained 
Evangels,  was  captained  for  conquest.  It  was 
committed  to  a  grand,  God-smitten,  kingly 
soul.  With  such  leadership  it  could  not  but 
grow  up  into  a  vast  region  of  conquering 
agencies,  a  great  Church! 

The  list  of  workers  in  this  pulpit  contains 
many  of  this  great  host  of  average  men  who 
do  the  great  bulk  of  the  work  of  this  world, 
and  some  of  the  great  men  whose  work  and 
memory  are  our  inheritance  and  inspiration. 
Here  is  the  name  of  Richard  Whatcoat.  John 
Wesley  wanted  the  Conference  of  1787  to 
make  him  Bishop,  but  the  Conference  re- 
fused to  do  it,  fearing  lest  Mr.  Wesley  might 
recall  Bishop  Asbury.  The  spirit  of  the  young 
republic  and  of  the  young  Church  was  the 
same.  Li  1800  the  General  Conference  elected 

361 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

and  ordained  him  Bishop.  He  was  distin- 
guished for  his  saintliness  and  for  the  spiritual 
power  accompanying  his  preaching.  The 
marked  demonstrations  that  characterized 
Methodism  in  the  early  years  followed  him  on 
many  occasions.  The  statistics  show  great  in- 
crease in  the  membership  immediately  fol- 
lowing his  election  to  the  Episcopacy.  His- 
tory informs  us  that  he  had  great  influence  in 
securing  these  results. 

The  name  of  John  P.  Durbin  needs  only  to 
be  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  Church 
to  establish  the  lofty  standard  of  pulpit  service 
here  enjoyed.  This  man  was  one  of  his  kind. 
He  was  a  student,  always  at  his  books;  a 
scholar,  mastering  the  old  college  curriculum 
and  touching  nearly  all  the  round  of  knowl- 
edge; a  preacher,  standing  for  years  at  the 
very  head  of  the  American  pulpit.  At  times 
he  possessed  'his  audiences  and  handled  them 
at  his  pleasure.  Once,  describing  the  coming 
of  the  Judgment  Day  in  the  Church  in  Car- 
lisle, he  showed  them  the  coming  of  Gabriel 
with  his  resurrection  trumpet  so  distinctly  that 
the  entire  audience  rushed  to  the  windows  and 
tore  the  blinds  from  their  hinges  in  their  alarm 
and  anxiety  to  see  the  coming  judgment 
throng.     When  his  high   inspiration  culmi- 

362 


EARLY   METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

nated  and  the  whites  of  his  eyes  were  seen 
round  the  blazing  pupils,  then  men  held  their 
breath  and  held  on  to  the  backs  of  the  pews,  or 
bounded  to  their  feet  or  fell  unconscious  on 
the  floor.    John  P.  Durbin  was  a  preacher. 

If  anything  is  lacking  to  make  this  city 
the  joy  of  all  Methodism,  it  is  found  in  that 
holy  wizard  of  the  pulpit,  John  Summerfield. 
The  best  thing  that  can  be  said  of  his  elo- 
quence is  found  in  the  traditions  that  impreg- 
nate the  very  air  wherever  he  preached,  tradi- 
tions which  no  man  can  define.  Multitudes 
that  crowded  all  the  region  about  where  he 
was  going  to  preach  and  would  not  leave  till 
long  after  he  had  finished — the  weeping,  sigh- 
ing, sobbing,  repenting,  shouting  multitudes, 
told  the  story  of  his  pathos  and  power.  I  can 
see  him,  coming  in  like  an  angel  through  one 
of  these  windows,  tripping  along  on  the  backs 
of  the  pews,  up  to  the  pulpit,  and  then  letting 
the  light  of  his  holy  face  shine  out  upon  the 
expectant  multitude.  God  is  v/ith  him.  This 
place  is  changed  into  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
Sinners  can  not  long  stand  under  the  heavenly 
vision.  They  drop  under  the  power  of  God. 
Penitents  can  not  long  hestitate  to  believe  in 
this  ante-room  of  heaven.  Believers  can  not 
long  stumble  at  the  exceeding  greatness  and 

363 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

preciousness  of  the  promises.  Brothers,  this 
is  the  Holy  of  Holies.  Nothing  earthly  can 
be  more  sacred  than  this  old  Academy,  once 
called  that,  and  always  an  Academy  in  God's 
spiritual  agencies.  O,  may  the  spirit  and 
power  of  John  Summerfield's  God  come  upon 
every  one  of  us!  It  is  something  to  be  in  this 
holy  place.  I  know  of  a  rough,  bad  man,  a 
carnal  man,  who  came  into  one  of  our 
Churches  in  Elmira  and  sought  God  at  the 
altar  with  all  his  might.  He  was  so  big  and 
rough  and  bad  that  the  brethren  could  not  be- 
lieve that  it  was  really  so,  even  when  God 
blessed  and  clearly  converted  him.  It  seemed 
too  much.  The  next  night  he  came  with  two 
wagon-loads  of  his  family  and  men,  including 
his  mother,  two  sisters  and  brother,  all  bad,  no- 
toriously bad.  This  staggered  the  Church  a 
little.  It  seemed  too  much  of  that  kind. 
When  the  invitation  was  given  they  all  came, 
but  the  Church  hesitated.  This  man  stepped 
round  and  opened  a  place  at  the  altar  for  his 
mother,  saying  to  the  pastor:  "Brother,  can't 
I  have  my  mother  kneel  right  there?  That  is 
the  spot  where  I  knelt  last  night,  and  I  kind 
o'  want  my  mother  to  kneel  right  there.  I 
am  sure  she  will  find  Him;  I  did."  Brothers, 
it  seems  to  me  a  great  thing  to  stand  here 

364 


EARLY  METHODISM   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

where  John  Summer  fie  Id  stood  and  saw  God 
and  showed  Him  to  sinners  and  saints.  Maybe 
we  can  see  Him  too.  O,  may  the  spirit  and 
power  of  John  Summerfield's  God  come  upon 
every  one  of  us,  upon  all  Philadelphia  Metho- 
dism, upon  all  Methodism! 


365 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 


Oration  delivered  at  the  Centennial  Exposition,  Philadel- 
phia, August  29,  1876,  at  the  request  and  by  the 
appointment  of  His  Excellency,  Hon.  J.  L. 
Beveridge,    Governor    of    the    State 
of    Illinois,  to    present    and 
represent    that    State. 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Mr.  President,  Fellow  Citizens  of  Illinois 
and  of  the  Republic,  Ladies  and  Gentle- 
men: 

A  peasant  espoused  a  princess.  She  was 
heavily  dowered  and  highly  endowed.  She 
had  genius  and  culture.  Her  form  was  the 
perfection  of  symmetry.  Her  motion  w^as  the 
rhythm  of  poetry.  Her  face  was  the  beauty  of 
the  morning.  Her  glance  was  the  benedic- 
tion that  follows  prayer.  In  repose  she  was 
a  model.  In  motion  she  was  a  song.  Seen, 
she  was  a  hope;  detained,  an  inspiration;  re- 
tained, a  transfiguration.  The  peasant  went 
with  her  to  a  royal  court  where  the  guests 
were  expected  to  compete  for  the  honor  of  an 
hour  on  the  throne  by  showing  their  rarest 
treasures.  A  high  courtier,  seeing  the  peasant 
empty-handed,  yet  hopeful,  said,  "Why 
hope?"  The  peasant  replied:  ''You  have  not 
seen  her!"  That  court  is  this  company  of  the 
assembled  nations.  That  princess  is  the 
Prairie  State,  in  the  great  valley  beyond  the 
mountains.  When  you  have  seen  her  you 
24  369 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

will  not  question  my  presence  or  my  hope.  I 
am  here  at  your  invitation,  by  the  authority 
of  yonder  commonwealth,  to  commend  to  you, 
and  through  you  to  all  men  everywhere,  the 
great  State  of  Illinois,  only  fourth  in  popula- 
tion and  not  second  in  honor  or  promise  among 
all  the  States  of  the  great  Republic.  If  you 
do  not  grant  us  this  day  a  favorable  verdict,  I 
shall  appeal  to  mankind,  to  impartial  history, 
and  to  the  next  Centennial. 

Name. 

^'What  is  in  a  name?"  "Much,  every 
way."  It  is  to  character  what  shadow  is  to 
substance.  It  only  needs  light  to  bring  it  out. 
It  is  worth  something  to  be  able  to  cast  a 
shadow.  It  involves  all  the  difference  be- 
tween a  city  and  a  cemetery.  If  in  uttering 
the  convictions  of  my  mind  I  am  compelled  to 
praise  Illinois  in  the  presence  of  these  earlier 
and  honorable  commonwealths,  you  must  par- 
don my  boldness.  For  it  is  for  this  purpose 
that  you  have  invited  me  here.  And  I  trust 
to  pay  you  fitting  honor  in  the  respect  be- 
stowed on  one  of  your  daughters.  For  a 
mother  can  not  but  rejoice  in  the  achievements 
of  her  second  self. 

The  soil  seems  predestined  to  greatness. 
370 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Albert  Gallatin,  who  has  prepared  the  best 
work  upon  the  Indian  languages,  says  that 
"Illinois  is  from  a  Delaware  word,  Leno,  or 
Leni,  or  Illini,  which  signifies  the  real  or  su- 
perior men/^ 

Some  of  the  vulgar  may  ask  why  the  sons 
of  Illinois  are  called  "Suckers,"  which,  like 
nearly  all  nicknames,  from  "Yankee"  to 
"Wolverine,"  is  a  term  of  disrespect.  The  an- 
swer is  found  in  the  jealousies  that  always 
spring  up  in  the  presence  of  success.  For  hu- 
man nature  has  one  law  from  which  she  sel- 
dom varies;  it  is  the  law  of  the  Donnybrook 
Fair,  namely,  "Wherever  you  see  a  head,  hit 
it."  So  Illinois  could  not  be  expected  to  es- 
cape some  term  of  reproach,  and  that  term 
she  must  fill  with  a  new  meaning.  In  the 
early  days  the  settlers  were  in  the  habit  of  go- 
ing up  the  river  every  spring  to  Galena,  and, 
having  worked  in  the  famous  lead  mines  dur- 
ing the  summer,  they  returned  down  the  river 
in  the  fall.  This  was  the  habit  of  "suckers" 
in  the  rivers.  The  transfer  of  the  epithet  was 
easy.  It  refers  also  to  the  poor  whites  from 
the  South  that  followed  the  wealthy,  like 
suckers  on  the  corn.  Its  transformation  has 
been  certain.  The  nation  has  had  abundant 
reason  to  bless  the  "Suckers." 

371 


addresses  on  notable  occasions 

Area. 

In  area  the  State  has  fifty-five  thousand 
four  hundred  and  ten  square  miles  of  territory. 
It  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide 
and  four  hundred  miles  long,  stretching  in 
latitude  from  Maine  to  North  Carolina.  It 
embraces  a  wide  variety  of  climate.  It  is  tem- 
pered on  the  north  by  the  great  inland,  salt- 
less,  tideless  sea,  which  keeps  the  thermom- 
eter from  either  extreme.  Being  a  table-land, 
from  six  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  one  is  prepared  to 
find  on  the  health  maps  prepared  by  the  gen- 
eral government  an  almost  clean  and  perfect 
record.  In  freedom  from  fevers  and  malarial 
diseases  and  consumptions,  the  three  deadly 
enemies  of  the  American  Saxon,  Illinois  as  a 
State  stands  without  a  superior.  She  fur- 
nishes one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  a  great 
people — sound  bodies.  I  suspect  that  this  fact 
lies  back  of  that  old  Delaware  word,  Illini — 
superior  men. 

Position. 

The  great  battles  of  history  that  have  been 
determinative  of  dynasties  and  destinies  have 
been  strategical  battles,  chiefly  the  question  of 

372 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

position.  Thermopylae  has  been  the  war  cry 
of  freemen  for  twenty-four  centuries.  It  only 
tells  how  much  there  may  be  in  position.  All 
this  advantage  belongs  to  Illinois.  It  is  in  the 
heart  of  the  greatest  valley  in  the  world,  the 
vast  region  between  the  mountains — a  valley 
that  could  feed  mankind  for  one  thousand 
years.  It  is  well  on  toward  the  center  of  the 
Continent.  It  is  in  the  great  temperate  belt, 
in  which  have  been  found  nearly  all  the  ag- 
gressive civilizations  of  history.  It  has  sixty- 
five  miles  of  frontage  on  the  head  of  the  lake, 
with  the  Mississippi  forming  the  western  and 
southern  boundary,  with  the  Ohio  running 
along  the  southeastern  line,  with  the  Illinois 
River  and  the  Canal  dividing  the  State  diag- 
onally from  the  lake  to  the  Lower  Mississippi, 
and  with  the  Rock  and  Wabash  Rivers  fur- 
nishing altogether  two  thousand  miles  of 
water-front,  connecting  with  and  running 
through  in  all  about  twelve  thousand  miles  of 
navigable  waters. 

But  this  is  not  all.  These  waters  are  made 
most  available  by  the  fact  that  the  Lake  and 
the  State  lie  on  the  ridge  running  into  the 
great  valley  from  the  east.  Within  cannon- 
shot  of  the  lake  the  water  runs  away  from  the 

373 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

lake  to  the  gulf.  The  lake  now  empties  at 
both  ends,  one  into  the  Atlantic,  the  other  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  lake  thus  seems  to 
hang  over  the  land.  This  makes  the  dock- 
age most  serviceable;  there  are  no  steep  banks 
to  damage  it.  Both  lake  and  river  are  made 
for  use. 

Climate  and  Products. 

The  climate  varies  from  Portland  to  Rich- 
mond; it  favors  every  product  of  the  Conti- 
nent, including  the  tropics,  with  less  than  half 
a  dozen  exceptions.  It  produces  every  great 
nutriment  of  the  world  except  bananas  and 
rice.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  it  is 
the  most  productive  spot  known  to  civiliza- 
tion. With  the  soil  full  of  bread  and  the  earth 
full  of  minerals,  with  an  upper  surface  of  food 
and  an  under  layer  of  fuel,  with  perfect  nat- 
ural drainage  and  abundant  springs  and 
streams  and  navigable  rivers,  half-way  be- 
tween the  forests  of  the  North  and  the  fruits 
of  the  South,  within  a  day's  ride  of  the  great 
deposits  of  iron,  coal,  copper,  lead  and  zinc, 
containing  and  controlling  the  great  grain, 
cattle,  pork  and  lumber  markets  of  the  world, 
it  is  not  strange  that  Illinois  has  the  advantage 
of  position. 

374 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Nativity. 

This  advantage  has  been  supplemented  by 
the  character  of  the  population.  In  the  early 
days,  when  Illinois  was  first  admitted  to  the 
Union,  her  population  were  chiefly  from  Ken- 
tucky ahd  Virginia.  But,  in  the  conflict  of 
ideas  concerning  slavery,  a  strong  tide  of  emi- 
gration came  in  from  the  East  and  soon 
changed  this  composition.  In  1870  her  non- 
native  population  were  from  colder  soils. 
New  York  furnished  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety;  Ohio 
gave  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  twenty-three;  Pennsylvania  sent 
on  ninety-eight  thousand  three  hundred  and 
fifty-two;  while  the  entire  South,  swept  by  the 
flames  of  war,  and  emptying  her  people  over 
the  border  rather  than  into  the  grave,  gave  us 
only  two  hundred  and  six  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four.  In  all  her  cities,  and  in 
all  her  German  and  Scandinavian  and  other 
foreign  colonies,  Illinois  has  only  about  one- 
fifth  of  her  people  of  foreign  birth. 

History. 

The  history  of  Illinois  is  brief.  In  geo- 
logical records  her  northern  end  stands  with 

375 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASION.^ 

New  York,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Min- 
nesota, forming  the  original  nucleus  of  the 
Continent  away  back  in  the  Silurian  age.  The 
body  of  the  State  was  produced  during  the 
carboniferous  age,  and  is  thus  loaded  with  vast 
coal  deposits. 

Indians. 

As  affected  by  human  history,  she  bears  the 
records  of  the  activities  of  the  mound-build- 
ers. Their  cities  and  their  sepulchers  still 
keep  silent  and  perpetual  guard  over  her 
Southwestern  border.  Next  came  the  great 
Algonquin  family  of  Indians.  Traced  by 
their  marks  and  cultivation  of  corn,  they  seem 
to  have  come  up  the  western  side  of  the  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  through  the  lower  passes 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  across  the  Continent, 
south  of  the  lakes  and  north  of  the  ancient 
marshes,  to  the  Atlantic,  up  the  Atlantic  Coast 
to  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  westward  by  the 
basin  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  then  down  the 
Mississippi  River  to  the  head  of  the  lakes, 
making  the  circuit  of  the  Continent  and  com- 
pletely surrounding  the  territory  of  the  Iro- 
quois. Measured  by  cultivation,  by  the  arts  of 
life,  by  humaneness  to  captives,  and  by  cubic 
inches  of  brain,  the  Algonquins  were  far  in 

376 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

advance  of  the  Iroquois.  But  the  Iroquois, 
massed  in  the  center,  and  given  to  low  bru- 
tality, had  the  advantage  in  position  and  in 
elements  for  a  struggle  of  claw  against  claw 
and  tooth  against  tooth.  This  finally  led  to 
the  closing  tragedy  of  the  Illinois,  on  Starved 
Rock,  where  the  entire  tribe  starved  rather 
than  surrender. 

Missionaries. 

The  next  plateau  in  the  advance  of  history 
is  the  coming  of  the  white  race,  in  the  person 
of  La  Salle,  who  discovered  the  wide  prairies 
of  Illinois  in  1670.  Trained  a  Jesuit,  and 
leading  a  business  life,  he  saw  at  once  the  fu- 
ture field  of  the  Church  and  of  commerce. 
Three  years  later  came  two  other  noted  char- 
acters, who,  like  La  Salle,  gave  their  heroic 
faith  and  purpose  to  the  new  land  and  left 
their  names  on  its  early  settlement — Joliet,  a 
fur  trader  of  Quebec,  and  Pere  Marquette,  a 
Jesuit  of  France.  Coasting  the  nothern  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan,  they  entered  Green  Bay, 
ascended  Fox  River,  crossed  over  into  the 
Wisconsin  River,  thus  taking  France  and 
Romanism  into  the  Mississippi  Valley  a  hun- 
dred years  in  advance  of  all  rivals.  A  mile 
north  of  Evanston,   on   the  old  Green   Bay 

377 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

road,  I  have  stood  upon  a  cleared  and  barren 
spot  where  Marquette  planted  the  cross  and 
built  a  Church  two  hundred  years  ago.  Then 
it  was  on  the  shore  of  the  lake;  now  it  is  some 
distance  inland. 

It  is  a  good  thing  to  plant  in  a  country 
first  a  cross,  and  take  possession  of  it  in  the 
spirit  of  missionaries  and  in  the  name  of  God. 
For  conscience  finally  gains  all  battles. 

The  first  military  occupation  was  at  Fort 
Crevecoeur,  in  1680. 

The  first  settlement  in  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley was  in  Illinois,  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  the 
Illinois  River,  in  1682.  Constructively,  in  the 
old  way  of  constructing  geographies  and  em- 
pires, Illinois  was  for  one  hundred  years  a  part 
of  Florida,  though  no  Spaniard  ever  set  foot 
on  it.  In  1675  it  became  a  possession  of  the 
French  crown,  a  dependency  of  Canada,  and 
a  part  of  Louisiana.  In  1765  the  English  flag 
was  run  up  on  old  Fort  Chartres,  and  Illinois 
was  counted  among  the  treasures  of  Great 
Britain. 

In  1779  it  was  taken  from  the  English  by 
Colonel  Clark.  This  man  was  resolute  in  na- 
ture, wise  in  council,  prudent  in  strife,  bold 
in  action,  and  heroic  in  danger.  Few  men 
who  have  figured  in  the  history  of  America 

378 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

are  more  deserving  than  this  colonel.  Noth- 
ing short  of  first-rate,  first-class  ability  could 
have  rescued  Vincennes  and  all  Illinois  from 
the  English.  And  it  is  not  possible  to  over- 
estimate the  influence  of  this  achievement 
upon  the  Republic.  In  1779  Illinois  became  a 
part  of  Virginia.  It  was  soon  known  as  Illi- 
nois County.  In  1784  Virginia  ceded  all  this 
territory  to  the  General  Government,  to  be  cut 
into  States,  to  be  republican  in  form,  with  ''the 
same  right  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  anti  inde- 
pendence as  the  other  States." 

Ordinance  OF  1787. 

In  1787  it  was  the  subject  of  the  wisest  and 
ablest  legislation  found  in  any  merely  human 
records.  No  man  can  study  the  secret  history 
of  the  ''Compact  of  1787,"  and  not  feel  that 
Providence  was  guiding  with  sleepless  eye 
these  unborn  States.  The  ordinance  that  on 
July  13,  1787,  finally  became  the  incorpora- 
tion act  has  a  most  marvelous  history.  Jeffer- 
son had  vainly  tried  to  secure  a  system  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  Northwestern  Territory.  He 
was  an  emancipationist  of  that  day,  and  fa- 
vored the  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  terri- 
tory Virginia  had  ceded  to  the  General  Gov- 

379 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

ernment;  but  the  South  voted  him  down  as 
often  as  it  came  up.  In  1787,  as  late  as 
July  loth,  an  organizing  act  without  the  anti- 
slavery  clause  was  pending.  This  concession 
to  the  South  was  expected  to  carry  it.  Con- 
gress was  in  session  in  New  York  City.  On 
July  5th,  Rev.  Dr.  Manasseh  Cutler,  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, came  into  New  York  to  lobby  on 
the  Northwestern  Territory.  Everything 
seemed  to  fall  into  his  hands.  Events  were 
ripe. 

The  state  of  the  public  credit,  the  growing 
of  Southern  prejudice,  the  basis  of  his  mission, 
his  personal  character,  all  combined  to  com- 
plete one  of  those  sudden  and  marvelous  revo- 
lutions in  public  sentiment  that  once  in  five  or 
ten  centuries  are  seen  to  sweep  over  a  country 
like  the  breath  of  the  Almighty.  Cutler  was 
a  graduate  of  Yale — received  his  A.  M.  from 
Harvard,  and  his  D.  D.  from  Yale.  He  had 
studied  and  taken  degrees  in  the  three  learned 
professions,  medicine,  law,  and  divinity.  He 
had  thus  America's  best  endorsement.  He  had 
published  a  scientific  examination  of  the 
plants  of  New  England.  His  name  stood  sec- 
ond only  to  that  of  Franklin  as  a  scientist  in 
America.  He  was  a  courtly  gentleman  of 
the  old  style,  a  man  of  commanding  presence 

380 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

and  of  inviting  face.  The  Southern  members 
said  they  had  never  seen  such  a  gentleman  in 
the  North.  He  came  representing  a  company 
of  men  w^ith  Massachusetts  capital  that  de- 
sired to  purchase  a  tract  of  land  now^  included 
in  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  planting  a  colony. 
It  was  a  speculation.  Government  money  was 
worth  eighteen  cents  on  the  dollar.  This  Mas- 
sachusetts company  had  collected  enough  to 
purchase  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land.  Other  speculators  in  New  York 
made  Dr.  Cutler  their  agent  (lobbyist)  ;  on 
the  1 2th  he  represented  a  demand  for  five  mil- 
lion five  hundred  thousand  acres.  This  would 
reduce  the  National  debt.  Jefferson  and  Vir- 
ginia were  regarded  as  authority  concerning 
the  land  Virginia  had  just  ceded.  Jefferson's 
policy  wanted  to  provide  for  the  public  credit, 
and  this  was  a  good  opportunity  to  do  some- 
thing. Massachusetts  then  owned  the  terri- 
tory of  Maine,  which  she  was  crowding  on  to 
the  market.  She  was  opposed  to  opening  the 
Northwestern  region.  This  fired  the  zeal  of 
Virginia.  The  South  caught  the  inspiration, 
and  all  exalted  Dr.  Cutler.  The  English 
Minister  invited  him  to  dine  with  some  of  the 
Southern  gentlemen.  He  was  the  center  of 
interest. 

381 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  entire  South  rallied  round  him.  Mas- 
sachusetts could  not  vote  against  him  because 
many  of  the  constituents  of  her  members  were 
interested  personally  in  the  Western  specula- 
tion. Thus  Cutler,  making  friends  with  the 
South,  and,  doubtless,  using  all  the  arts  of  the 
body,  was  enabled  to  command  the  situation. 
True  to  deeper  convictions,  he  dictated  one  of 
the  most  compact  and  finished  documents  of 
wise  statesmanship  that  has  ever  adorned  any 
human  law  book.  He  borrowed  from  Jefifer- 
son  the  term  ^'Articles  of  Compact,"  which, 
preceding  the  Federal  Constitution,  rose  into 
the  most  sacred  character.  He  then  followed 
very  closely  the  Constitution  of  Massachu- 
setts, adopted  three  years  before.  Its  most 
marked  points  were: 

1.  The  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the 

TERRITORY  FOREVER. 

2.  Provision  for  public  schools,  giving  one 
township  for  a  seminary,  and  every  section 
numbered  sixteen  in  each  township ;  that  is, 
one  thirty-sixth  of  all  the  land  for  public 
schools. 

3.  A  provision  prohibiting  the  adoption  of 
any  constitution  or  the  enactment  of  any  law 
that  should  nullify  pre-existing  contracts. 

382 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Be  it  forever  remembered  that  this  com- 
pact declared  thsit  /'Religion,  morality,  and 
knoiviedge  being  necessary  to  good  govern- 
ment and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools 
and  the  means  of  education  shall  always  be  en- 
couraged/' 

Dr.  Cutler  planted  himself  on  this  plat- 
form and  would  not  yield.  Giving  his  un- 
qualified declaration  that  it  w^as  that  or  noth- 
ing— that  unless  they  could  make  the  land  de- 
sirable they  did  not  vs^ant  it — he  took  his 
horse  and  buggy  and  started  for  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  in  Philadelphia.  On 
July  13,  1787,  the  bill  was  put  upon  its  pas- 
sage and  was  unanimously  adopted,  every 
Southern  member  voting  for  it,  and  only  one 
man,  Mr.  Yates,  of  New  York,  voting  against 
it.  But  as  the  States  voted  as  States,  Yates 
lost  his  vote,  and  the  Compact  was  put  beyond 
repeal.  Thus  the  great  States  of  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin — a 
vast  empire,  the  heart  of  the  great  valley — 
were  consecrated  to  freedom,  intelligence,  and 
honesty.  Thus  the  great  heart  of  the  nation 
was  prepared  for  a  year  and  a  day  and  an 
hour.  In  the  light  of  these  eighty-nine  years  I 
affirm  that  this  act  was  the  salvation  of  the 
Republic  and  the  destruction  of  slavery.    Soon 

383 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  South  saw  their  great  blunder  and  tried  to 
repeal  the  Compact.  In  1803  Congress  re- 
ferred it  to  a  committee,  of  which  John  Ran- 
dolph was  chairman.  He  reported  that  this 
ordinance  was  a  Compact,  and  opposed  re- 
peal. Thus  it  stood  a  rock  in  the  way  of  the 
onrushing  sea  of  slavery. 

Would  you  know  what  this  scholarly  Di- 
vinity Doctor  did?  Go,  ride  about  the  South- 
ern and  Southwestern  borders  of  this  territory. 
The  style  of  the  civilizations  are  as  different 
as  day  and  night.  The  census,  up  to  1870, 
has  told  the  story  every  ten  years.  Freedom 
brought  forth  her  legitimate  fruits — industry, 
wealth,  intelligence,  morality,  safety,  honor, 
loyalty,  peace,  and  the  evident  blessing  of 
God.  This  man  planted  the  school-house  in- 
stead of  the  slave-gang,  the  Church  instead  of 
the  auction  block,  the  New  Testament  and 
spelling  book  instead  of  handcuffs  and  black- 
whips  ;  and  he  needs  no  monument  but  the 
story  of  his  deeds.  And  we  are  here,  in  this 
company  of  the  original  Thirteen,  to  express 
our  grateful  appreciation  of  what  we  have  in- 
herited from  this  minister  of  the  Old  Bay 
State. 


384 


the  greatness  of  illinois 

Slavery. 

With  all  this  timely  aid  it  was,  after  all, 
a  most  desperate  and  protracted  struggle  to 
keep  the  soil  of  Illinois  sacred  to  freedom. 
It  was  the  natural  battlefield  for  the  irrepres- 
sible conflict.  In  the  Southern  end  of  the 
State,  slavery  preceded  the  Compact.  It  ex- 
isted among  the  old  French  settlers,  and  was 
hard  to  eradicate.  The  southern  part  of  the 
State  was  settled  from  the  slave  States,  and 
this  population  brought  their  laws,  customs, 
and  institutions  with  them.  A  stream  of  pop- 
ulation from  the  North  poured  into  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State.  These  sections  misun- 
derstood and  hated  each  other  perfectly.  The 
Southerners  regarded  the  Yankees  as  a  skin- 
ning, tricky,  penurious  race  of  peddlers,  fill- 
ing the  country  with  tinware,  brass  clocks, 
and  wooden  nutmegs.  The  Northerner  thought 
of  the  Southerner  as  a  lean,  lanky,  lazy  crea- 
ture, burrowing  in  a  hut  and  rioting  in  whisky, 
dirt,  and  ignorance.  These  causes  aided  in 
making  the  struggle  long  and  bitter.  So 
strong  was  the  sympathy  with  slavery  that,  in 
spite  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  in  spite  of 
the  Deed  of  Cession,  it  was  determined  to  al- 
low the   old  French   settlers   to   retain   their 

25  385 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

slaves.  Planters  from  the  slave  States  might 
bring  their  slaves,  if  they  would  give  them  a 
chance  to  choose  freedom  or  years  of  service 
and  bondage  for  their  children  till  they  should 
become  thirty  years  of  age.  If  they  chose  free- 
dom they  must  leave  the  State  in  sixty  days  or 
be  sold  as  fugitives.  Servants  were  whipped 
for  offenses  for  which  white  men  were  fined. 
Each  lash  paid  forty  cents  of  the  fine.  A 
Negro  ten  miles  from  home  without  a  pass 
was  whipped.  These  famous  laws  were  im- 
ported from  the  slave  States  just  as  they  im- 
ported laws  for  the  inspection  of  flax  and  wool 
when  there  was  neither  in  the  State. 

These  black  laws  are  now  wiped  out.  A 
vigorous  effort  was  made  to  protect  slavery 
in  the  State  Constitution  in  1818.  It  barely 
failed.  It  was  renewed  in  1822,  when  a  con- 
vention was  asked  to  make  a  new  Constitution. 
After  a  hard  fight  the  convention  was  defeated. 
But  slaves  did  not  disappear  from  the  census 
of  the  State  till  1850.  There  were  mobs  and 
murders  in  the  interest  of  slavery.  Lovejoy 
was  added  to  the  list  of  the  martyrs — a  sort  of 
first-fruits  of  that  long  line  of  immortal  heroes 
who  saw  freedom  as  the  one  supreme  desire 
of  their  souls,  and  were  so  enamored  of  her 
that  they  preferred  to  die  rather  than  sur- 
vive her.  386 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Admitted  into  the  Union. 

The  population  of  twelve  thousand  two 
hundred  and  eighty-two  that  occupied  the  ter- 
ritory in  A.  D.  1800,  increased  to  forty-five 
thousand  in  A.  D.  181 8,  when  the  State  Con- 
stitution was  adopted  and  Illinois  took  her 
place  in  the  Union,  with  a  star  on  the  flag  and 
two  votes  in  the  Senate. 

Shadrach  Bond,  a  farmer,  was  the  first 
governor,  and  in  his  first  message  he  recom- 
mended the  construction  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal. 

The  simple  economy  in  those  days  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  entire  bill  for  stationery 
for  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature  was  only 
$13.50.  Yet  this  simple  body  actually  enacted 
a  very  superior  code. 

Money. 

There  was  no  money  in  the  Territory  be- 
fore the  War  of  181 2.  Deer  skins  and  'coon 
skins  were  the  circulating  medium.  In  1821 
the  Legislature  ordained  a  State  bank  on  the 
credit  of  the  State.  It  issued  notes  in  the  like- 
ness of  bank-bills.  These  notes  were  made  a 
legal  tender  for  everything,  and  the  bank  was 
ordered  to  loan  to  the  people  $100  on  personal 

387 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

security,  and  more  on  mortgages.  They  actu- 
ally passed  a  resolution  requesting  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  to 
receive  these  notes  for  land.  The  old  French 
Lieutenant-governor,  Colonel  Menard,  put 
the  resolution  as  follows:  "Gentlemen  of  de 
Senate:  It  is  moved  and  seconded  dat  de  notes 
of  dis  bank  be  made  land-office  money.  All 
in  favor  of  dat  motion  say  Aye ;  all  against  it 
say  No.  It  is  decided  in  de  affirmative.  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  bet  you  one  hundred  dollar  he 
never  be  land-office  money!"  Hard  sense,  like 
hard  money,  is  always  above  par. 

French. 

This  old  Frenchman  presents  a  fine  figure 
up  against  the  dark  background  of  most  of  his 
nation.  They  made  no  progress.  They  clung 
to  their  earliest  and  simplest  implements. 
They  never  wore  hats  or  caps.  They  pulled 
their  blankets  over  their  heads  in  the  winter 
like  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  freely  inter- 
married. 

Politics. 

Demagogism  had  an  early  development. 
One  John  Grammar  (only  in  name),  elected 
to  the  Territorial  and  State  Legislatures  from 

388 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

i8i6  to  1836,  invented  the  policy  of  opposing 
every  new  thing,  saying:  ^Tf  it  succeeds,  no 
one  will  ask  who  voted  against  it.  If  it  proves 
a  failure,  he  could  quote  his  record."  In 
sharp  contrast  with  Grammar  was  the  char- 
acter of  D.  P.  Cook,  after  whom  the  county 
containing  Chicago  was  named.  Such  was  his 
transparent  integrity  and  remarkable  ability 
that  his  will  was  almost  the  law  of  the  State. 
In  Congress,  a  young  man  and  from  a  poor 
State,  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee.  He  was  pre-eminent  for 
standing  by  his  convictions,  regardless  of  con- 
sequences. It  was  his  integrity  that  elected 
John  Quincy  Adams  to  the  Presidency.  There 
were  four  candidates  in  1824,  Jackson,  Clay, 
Crawford,  and  John  Quincy  Adams.  There 
being  no  choice  by  the  people,  the  election  was 
thrown  into  the  House.  It  was  so  balanced 
that  it  turned  on  his  vote,  and  he  cast  that  for 
Adams,  electing  him ;  then  went  home  to  face 
the  wrath  of  the  Jackson  party  in  Illinois.  It 
cost  him  all  but  character  and  greatness.  It 
is  a  suggestive  comment  on  the  times  that  there 
was  no  legal  interest  till  1830.  It  often 
reached  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent; 
usually  fifty  per  cent.  Then  it  was  reduced  to 
twelve,  and  now  (1876)  to  ten  per  cent. 

389 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  Canal. 

One  of  the  great  elements  in  the  early  de- 
velopment of  Illinois  is  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal,  connecting  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  Rivers  w^ith  the  lakes.  It  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  the  State.  It  was 
recommended  by  Governor  Bond,  the  first 
governor,  in  his  first  message.  In  1821  the 
Legislature  appropriated  $10,000  for  survey- 
ing the  route.  Two  bright  young  engineers 
surveyed  it,  and  estimated  the  cost  at  $600,000 
or  $700,000.  It  finally  cost  $8,000,000.  In 
1825  ^  l^w  was  passed  to  incorporate  the 
Canal  Company,  but  no  stock  was  sold.  In 
1826,  upon  the  solicitation  of  Cook,  Congress 
gave  three  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land 
on  the  line  of  the  work.  In  1828  another  law 
— commissioners  appointed,  and  work  com- 
menced, with  new  survey  and  new  estimates. 
In  1834-35  George  Farquhar  made  an  able 
report  on  the  whole  matter.  This  was  doubt- 
less the  ablest  report  ever  made  to  a  Western 
Legislature,  and  it  became  the  model  for  sub- 
sequent reports  and  action.  From  this  the 
work  went  on  till  it  was  finished,  in  1848.  It 
cost  the  State  a  large  amount  of  money;  but  it 
gave  to  the  industries  of  the  State  an  impetus 

390 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

that  pushed  it  up  into  the  first  rank  of  great- 
ness. It  was  not  built  as  a  speculation  any 
more  than  a  doctor  is  employed  on  a  specula- 
tion. But  it  has  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the 
State   an    average    annual    net   sum   of   over 

$111,000. 

Speculation. 

Pending  the  construction  of  the  canal,  the 
land  and  town-lot  fever  broke  out  in  the  State, 
in  1834-35.  It  took  on  the  malignant  type  in 
Chicago,  lifting  the  town  up  into  a  city.  The 
disease  spread  over  the  entire  State  and  ad- 
joining States.  It  was  epidemic.  It  cut  up 
men's  farms  without  regard  to  locality,  and 
cut  up  the  purses  of  the  purchasers  without  re- 
gard to  consequences.  It  is  estimated  that 
building  lots  enough  were  sold  in  Illinois 
alone  to  accommodate  every  citizen  then  in 
the  United  States. 

Towns  and  cities  were  exported  to  the 
Eastern  market  by  the  ship-load.  There  was 
no  lack  of  buyers.  Every  up-ship  came 
freighted  with  speculators  and  their  money. 

Internal  Improvement. 

This  distemper  seized  upon  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1836-37,  and  left  not  one  to  tell  the 

391 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

tale.  They  enacted  a  system  of  internal  im- 
provement without  a  parallel  in  the  grandeur 
of  its  conception.  They  ordered  the  construc- 
tion of  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  railroad, 
crossing  the  State  in  all  directions.  This  was 
surpassed  by  the  river  and  canal  improve- 
ments. There  were  a  few  counties  not  touched 
by  either  railroad  or  river  or  canal,  and  these 
were  to  be  comforted  and  compensated  for 
their  misfortune  by  the  free  distribution  of 
$200,000  among  them.  To  inflate  this  balloon 
beyond  credence,  it  was  ordered  that  work 
should  be  commenced  on  both  ends  of  each 
of  these  railroads  and  rivers,  and  at  each  river- 
crossing,  all  at  the  same  time.  The  appropria- 
tions for  these  vast  improvements  were  over 
$12,000,000,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  borrow  the  money  on  the  credit  of 
the  State.  Remember  that  all  this  was  in  the 
early  days  of  railroading,  when  railroads 
were  luxuries;  that  the  State  had  w^hole 
counties  with  scarcely  a  cabin;  and  that  the 
population  of  the  State  was  less  than  four  hun- 
dred thousand,  and  you  can  form  some  idea 
of  the  vigor  with  which  these  brave  men  un- 
dertook the  work  of  making  a  great  State.  In 
the  light  of  history  I  am  compelled  to  say 
that  this  was  only  a  premature  throb  of  the 

392 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

power  that  actually  slumbered  in  the  soil  of 
the  State.    It  was  Hercules  in  the  cradle. 

At  this  juncture  the  State  bank  loaned  its 
funds  largely  to  Godfrey  Gilman  &  Co.,  and 
to  other  leading  houses,  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  trade  from  St.  Louis  to  Alton.  Soon 
they  failed,  and  took  down  the  bank  with 
them. 

In  1840  all  hope  seemed  gone.  A  popula- 
tion of  four  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  were 
loaded  with  a  debt  of  $14,000,000.  It  had 
only  six  small  cities,  really  only  towns; 
namely,  Chicago,  Alton,  Springfield,  Quincy, 
Galena,  Nauvoo.  This  debt  was  to  be  cared 
for  when  there  was  not  a  dollar  in  the  treasury, 
and  when  the  State  had  borrowed  itself  out  of 
all  credit,  and  when  there  was  not  good  money 
enough  in  the  hands  of  all  the  people  to  pay 
the  interest  of  the  debt  for  a  single  year.  Yet, 
in  the  presence  of  all  these  difficulties,  the 
young  State  steadily  refused  to  repudiate. 
Governor  Ford  took  hold  of  the  problem  and 
solved  it,  bringing  the  State  through  in 
triumph. 

Having  touched  lightly  upon  some  of  the 
more  distinctive  points  in  the  history  of  the 
development  of  Illinois,  let  us  next  briefly  con- 
sider the 

393 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Material  Resources  of  the  State. 

It  is  a  garden  four  hundred  miles  long  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide.  Its  soil  is 
chiefly  a  black,  sandy  loam,  from  six  inches 
to  sixty  feet  thick.  On  the  American  bottoms 
it  has  been  cultivated  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  without  renewal.  About  the  old 
French  towns  it  has  yielded  corn  for  a  century 
and  a  half  without  rest  or  help.  It  produces 
nearly  everything  grown  in  the  temperate  and 
tropical  zones.  She  leads  all  other  States  in 
the  number  of  acres  actually  under  plow. 
Her  products  from  twenty-five  millions  of 
acres  are  incalculable.  Her  mineral  wealth  is 
scarcely  second  to  her  agricultural  power. 
She  has  coal,  iron,  lead,  copper,  zinc,  many 
varieties  of  building  stone,  fire-clay,  china- 
clay,  common  brick  clay,  sand  of  all  kinds, 
gravel,  mineral  paint — everything  needed  for 
a  high  civilization.  Left  to  herself,  she  has 
the  elements  of  all  greatness.  The  single  item 
of  coal  is  too  vast  for  any  appreciative  han- 
dling in  figures.  We  can  handle  it  in  general 
terms,  like  algebraical  signs,  but  long  before 
we  get  up  into  the  millions  and  billions  the 
human  mind  drops  down  from  comprehension 
to  mere  symbolic  apprehension. 

394 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Coal. 

When  I  tell  you  that  nearly  four-fifths  of 
the  entire  State  is  underlaid  with  a  deposit  of 
coal  more  than  forty  feet  thick,  on  the  average 
(now  estimated  by  recent  surveys  at  seventy 
feet  thick),  you  can  get  some  idea  of  its 
amount,  as  you  do  of  the  amount  of  the  na- 
tional debt.  There  it  is!  Forty-one  thousand 
square  miles — one  vast  mine  into  which  you 
could  put  any  of  the  States;  in  which  you 
could  bury  scores  of  European  and  ancient 
empires,  and  have  room  enough  all  round  to 
work  without  knowing  that  they  had  been  se- 
pulchered  there.  Put  this  vast  coal-bed  down 
by  the  other  great  coal  deposits  of  the  w^orld, 
and  its  importance  becomes  manifest.  Great 
Britain  has  twelve  thousand  square  miles  of 
coal ;  Spain,  three  thousand;  France,  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  nineteen;  Belgium, 
five  hundred  and  seventy-eight;  Illinois,  about 
twice  as  many  square  miles  as  all  combined. 
Virginia  has  twenty  thousand  square  miles; 
Pennsylvania,  sixteen  thousand ;  Ohio,  twelve 
thousand.  Illinois  has  forty-one  thousand 
square  miles.  One-seventh  of  all  the  known 
coal  on  this  Continent  is  in  Illinois. 

Could  we  sell  the  coal  in  this  single  State 
395 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

for  one-seventh  of  one  cent  a  ton,  it  would  pay 
the  national  debt,  at  this  time  $2,700,000,000. 
Converted  into  power,  even  with  the  wastage 
in  our  common  engines,  it  would  do  more 
work  than  could  be  done  by  the  entire  race,  be- 
ginning at  Adam's  wedding  and  working  ten 
hours  a  day  through  all  the  centuries  till  the 
present  time,  and  right  on  into  the  future  at 
the  same  rate  for  the  next  six  hundred  thou- 
sand years. 

Great  Britain  uses  enough  mechanical 
power  to-day  to  give  each  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  kingdom  the  help  and  service  of 
nineteen  untiring  servants.  No  wonder  she 
has  leisure  and  luxuries.  Think,  if  you 
can  conceive  of  it,  of  the  vast  army  of 
servants  that  slumber  in  the  soil  of  Illinois, 
impatiently  awaiting  the  call  of  Genius  to 
come  forth  to  minister  to  our  comfort. 

At  the  present  rate  of  consumption  Eng- 
land's coal  supply  will  be  exhausted  in  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  When  this  is  gone 
she  must  transfer  her  dominion  either  to  the 
Indies;  or  to  British  America,  which  I  would 
not  resist;  or  to  some  other  people,  which  I 
would  regret  as  a  loss  to  civilization.  Coal  is 
King.  At  the  same  rate  of  consumption 
(which  far  exceeds  our  own)   the  deposit  of 

396 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

coal  in  Illinois  will  last  one  hundred  and 
twent}^  thousand  years.  And  her  kingdom 
shall  be  an  everlasting  kingdom. 

Annual  Products. 

Let  us  turn  now  from  this  reserve  power 
to  the  annual  products  of  the  State.  We  shall 
not  be  humiliated  in  this  field.  Here  we 
strike  the  secret  of  our  national  credit.  Na- 
ture provides  a  market  in  the  constant  appe- 
tite of  the  race.  Men  must  eat,  and  if  we  can 
furnish  the  provisions  we  can  command  the 
treasure.  All  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for 
his  life. 

According  to  the  last  census  Illinois  pro- 
duced thirty  million  bushels  of  wheat.  That 
is  more  wheat  than  was  raised  by  any  other 
State  in  the  Union.  She  raised,  last  year, 
one  hundred  and  thirty  million  bushels  of 
corn — twice  as  much  as  any  other  State, 
and  one-sixth  of  all  the  corn  raised  in 
the  United  States.  She  harvested  two  million 
seven  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand  tons 
of  hay,  nearly  one-tenth  of  all  the  hay  in  the 
Republic.  It  is  not  generally  appreciated,  but 
it  is  true,  that  the  hay  crop  of  the  country  is 
worth  more  than  the  cotton  crop.  The  hay  of 
Illinois  equals  the  cotton  of  Louisiana.    Go  to 

397 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  see  them 
peddling  handfuls  of  hay  or  grass,  almost  as  a 
curiosity,  as  we  regard  Chinese  gods  or  the 
cryolite  of  Greenland;  drink  your  coffee  and 
condensed  milk,  and  walk  back  from  the  coast 
for  many  a  league  through  the  sand  and  burs 
till  you  get  up  into  the  better  atmosphere  of 
the  mountains,  without  seeing  a  waving 
meadow  or  a  grazing  herd;  then  you  will  be- 
gin to  appreciate  the  meadow^s  of  the  Prairie 
State,  where  the  grass  often  grows  sixteen  feet 
high. 

The  value  of  her  farm  implements  is 
$2 1 1 ,000,000,  and  the  value  of  her  live-stock  is 
only  second  to  the  great  State  of  New  York. 
Last  year  she  had  twenty-five  million  hogs, 
and  packed  two  million  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five, 
about  one-half  of  all  that  were  packed  in  the 
United  States.  This  is  no  insignificant  item. 
Pork  is  a  growing  demand  of  the  Old  World. 
Since  the  laborers  of  Europe  have  gotten  a 
taste  of  our  bacon,  and  we  have  learned  how  to 
pack  it  dry  in  boxes,  like  dry-goods,  the  world 
has  become  the  market.  The  hog  is  on  the 
march  into  the  future.  His  nose  is  ordained  to 
uncover  the  secrets  of  dominion,  and  his  feet 
shall  be  guided  by  the  star  of  empire. 

398 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Illinois  marketed  $57,000,000  worth  of 
slaughtered  animals — more  than  any  other 
State,  and  a  seventh  of  all  the  States. 

Be  patient  with  me,  and  pardon  my  pride, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  list  of  some  of  the  things 
in  which  Illinois  excels  all  other  States. 

Depth  and  richness  of  soil;  per  cent  of 
good  ground;  acres  of  improved  land;  large 
farms — some  farms  contain  from  forty  thou^ 
sand  to  sixty  thousand  acres  of  cultivated  land, 
forty  thousand  acres  of  corn  on  a  single  farm; 
number  of  farmers;  amount  of  wheat,  corn, 
oats,  and  honey  produced;  value  of  animals 
for  slaughter;  number  of  hogs;  amount  of 
pork;  number  of  horses — three  times  as  many 
as  Kentucky,  the  Horse  State. 

Illinois  excels  all  other  States  in  miles  of 
railroads,  and  in  miles  of  postal  service,  and  in 
money  orders  sold  per  annum,  and  in  the 
amount  of  lumber  sold  in  her  markets. 

Illinois  is  only  second  in  many  important 
matters.  This  sample  list  comprises  a  few 
of  the  more  important:  Permanent  school  fund 
(good  for  a  young  State)  ;  total  income  for 
educational  purposes;  number  of  publishers 
of  books,  maps,  papers,  etc. ;  value  of  farm 
products  and  implements  and  of  live-stock;  in 
tons  of  coal  mined. 

399 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  shipping  of  Illinois  is  only  second  to 
New  York.  Out  of  one  port  during  the  busi- 
ness hours  of  the  season  of  navigation  she  sends 
forth  a  vessel  every  ten  minutes.  This  does 
not  include  canal  boats,  which  go  one  every 
minute.  •  No  wonder  she  is  only  second  in 
number  of  bankers  and  brokers,  or  in  physi- 
cians and  surgeons. 

She  is  third  in  colleges,  teachers,  and 
schools;  cattle,  lead,  hay,  flax,  sorghum,  and 
beeswax. 

She  is  fourth  in  population,  in  children 
enrolled  in  public  schools,  in  law  schools,  in 
butter,  potatoes,  and  carriages. 

She  is  fifth  in  value  of  real  and  personal 
property,  in  theological  seminaries  and  col- 
leges exclusively  for  women  ;  in  milk  sold,  and 
in  boots  and  shoes  manufactured,  and  in  book- 
binding. 

She  is  only  seventh  in  the  production  of 
wood,  while  she  is  the  twelfth  in  area.  Surely 
that  is  well  done  for  the  Prairie  State.  She 
now  has  much  more  wood  and  growing  tim-. 
her  than  she  had  thirty  years  ago. 

A  few  leading  industries  will  justify  em- 
phasis. She  manufactures  $205,000,000  worth 
of  goods,  which  places  her  well  up  toward 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania.     The  number 

400 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

of  her  manufacturing  establishments  increased 
from  i860  to  1870  three  hundred  per  cent; 
capital  employed  increased  three  hundred  and 
fifty  per  cent,  and  the  amount  of  product  in- 
creased four  hundred  per  cent.  She  issued 
five  million  five  hundred  thousand  copies  of 
commercial  and  financial  new^spapers — only 
second  to  New  York.  She  has  six  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  fifty-nine  miles  of  railroad, 
thus  leading  all  other  States,  w^orth  $636,- 
458,000,  using  three  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  engines,  and  sixty-seven  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  twelve  cars,  making  a 
train  long  enough  to  cover  one-tenth  of  the 
entire  road.  Her  stations  are  only  five  miles 
apart.  She  carried  last  year  fifteen  million 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  pas- 
sengers, an  average  of  thirty-six  and  a  half 
miles,  or  equal  to  taking  her  entire  population 
twice  across  the  State.  More  than  two-thirds 
of  her  land  is  within  five  miles  of  a  railroad, 
and  less  than  two  per  cent  is  more  than  fifteen 
miles  away. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

The  State  has  a  large  financial  interest  In 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  The  road  was 
incorporated  in  1850,  and  the  State  gave  each 

26  401 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

alternate  section  for  six  miles  on  each  side  and 
doubled  the  price  of  the  remaining  land,  so 
keeping  herself  good.  The  road  received  two 
million  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand 
acres  of  land,  and  pays  to  the  State  one-seventh 
of  the  gross  receipts.  The  State  receives  this 
year  $350,000,  and  has  received  in  all  about 
$7,000,000.  It  is  practically  the  people's  road, 
and  it  has  a  most  able  and  gentlemanly  man- 
agement. Add  to  this  the  annual  receipts 
from  the  canal,  $1 1 1,000,  and  a  large  per  cent 
of  the  State  tax  is  provided  for. 

Religion. 

The  religion  and  morals  of  the  State  keep 
step  with  her  productions  and  growth.  She 
was  born  of  the  missionary  spirit.  It  was  a 
minister  who  secured  for  her  the  ordinance 
of  1787,  by  which  she  has  been  saved  from 
slavery,  ignorance,  and  dishonesty.  Rev.  Mr. 
Wiley,  pastor  of  a  Scotch  congregation  in 
Randolph  County,  petitioned  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  181 8  to  recognize  Jesus 
Christ  as  King,  and  the  Scriptures  as  the  only 
necessary  guide  and  book  of  law.  The  Con- 
vention did  not  act  in  the  case,  and  the  old 
Covenanters  refused  to  accept  citizenship. 
They  never  voted  till  1824,  when  the  slavery 

402 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

question  was  submitted  to  the  people;  then 
they  all  voted  against  it  and  cast  the  deter- 
mining votes.  Conscience  has  predominated 
whenever  a  great  moral  question  has  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  people. 

But  little  mob  violence  has  ever  been  felt 
in  the  State.  In  1817  Regulators  disposed  of 
a  band  of  horse-thieves  that  infested  the  Terri- 
tory. The  Mormon  indignities  finally  awoke 
the  same  spirit.  Alton  was  also  the  scene  of 
a  pro-slavery  mob,  in  which  Lovejoy  was 
added  to  the  list  of  martyrs.  The  moral  sense 
of  the  people  makes  the  law  supreme,  and 
gives  to  the  State  unruffled  peace. 

With  $22,300,000  in  Church  property  and 
four  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
Church  organizations,  the  State  has  that  di- 
vine police,  the  sleepless  patrol  of  moral  ideas, 
that  alone  is  able  to  secure  perfect  safety. 
Conscience  takes  the  knife  from  the  assassin's 
hand  and  the  bludgeon  from  the  grasp  of  the 
highwayman.  We  sleep  in  safety,  not  because 
we  are  behind  bolts  and  bars— these  only 
fence  against  the  innocent;  not  because  a 
lone  officer  drowses  on  a  distant  corner  of 
the  street;  not  because  a  sheriff  may  call 
his  posse  from  a  remote  part  of  the 
county;   but  because    Conscience   guards   the 

403 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

very  portals  of  the  air,  and  stirs  in  the  deepest 
recesses  of  the  public  mind.  This  spirit 
issues  within  the  State  nine  million  five 
hundred  thousand  copies  of  religious  papers 
annually,  and  receives  still  more  from  with- 
out. Thus  the  crime  of  the  State  is  only  one- 
fourth  that  of  New  York  and  one-half  that  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Illinois  never  had  but  one  duel  between 
her  own  citizens.  In  Belleville,  in  1820,  Al- 
phonso  Stewart  and  William  Bennett  ar- 
ranged to  vindicate  injured  honor.  The  sec- 
onds agreed  to  make  it  a  sham  and  make  them 
shoot  blanks.  Stewart  was  in  the  secret.  Ben- 
nett mistrusted  something  and,  unobserved, 
slipped  a  bullet  into  his  gun  and  killed  Stew- 
art. He  then  fled  the  State.  After  two  years 
he  was  caught,  tried,  convicted,  and,  in  spite 
of  friends  and  political  aid,  was  hanged.  This 
fixed  the  code  of  honor  on  a  Christian  basis 
and  terminated  its  use  in  Illinois. 

The  early  preachers  were  ignorant  men, 
who  were  accounted  eloquent  according  to 
the  strength  of  their  voices.  But  they  set  the 
style  for  all  public  speakers.  Lawyers  and  po- 
litical speakers  followed  this  rule.  Governor 
Ford  says:  '^Nevertheless  these  first  preachers 
were  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  country. 

404 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

They  inculcated  justice  and  morality.  To 
them  are  we  indebted  for  the  first  Christian 
character  of  the  Protestant  portion  of  the 
people." 

Education. 

In  education  Illinois  surpasses  her  mate- 
rial resources.  The  ordinance  of  1787  conse- 
crated one  thirty-sixth  of  her  soil  to  common 
schools,  and  the  law  of  1818,  the  first  law  that 
went  upon  her  statutes,  gave  three  per  cent  of 
all  the  rest  to  education  instead  of  highways. 
The  old  compact  secures  this  interest  forever, 
and  by  its  yoking  morality  and  intelligence  it 
precludes  the  legal  interference  with  the  Bible 
in  the  public  schools.  With  such  a  start  it  is 
natural  that  we  should  have  eleven  thousand 
and  fifty  public  schools,  and  that  our  illiteracy 
should  be  less  than  New  York  or  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  only  about  one-half  of  Massachu- 
setts. We  are  not  to  blame  for  not  having 
more  than  one-half  as  many  idiots  as  the  great 
States.  These  public  schools  soon  made  col- 
leges inevitable.  The  first  college,  still  flour- 
ishing, was  started  in  Lebanon,  1828,  by  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  named  after 
Bishop  McKendree.  Illinois  College,  at  Jack- 
sonville, supported  by  the  Presbyterians,  fol- 

405 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

lowed  in  1830.  In  1832  the  Baptists  built 
Shurtleff  College,  at  Alton.  Then  the  Presby- 
terians built  Knox  College,  at  Galesburg,  in 
1838,  and  the  Episcopalians  built  Jubilee  Col- 
lege, at  Peoria,  in  1847.  The  State  now 
has  one  ver}^  well  endowed  and  equipped 
university;  namely,  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity, at  Evanston,  with  six  colleges,  ninety 
instructors,  over  one  thousand  students,  and 
$1,500,000  endowment — a  good  start. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Peck  was  the  first  educated 
Protestant  minister  in  the  State.  He  settled  at 
Rock  Spring,  in  St.  Clair  County,  1820,  and 
left  his  impress  on  the  State.  Before  1837  ^^^Y 
party  papers  were  published,  but  Mr.  Peck 
published  a  Gazetteer  of  Illinois.  Soon  after 
John  Russell,  of  Bluffdale,  published  essays 
and  tales  showing  genius.  Judge  James  Hall 
published  the  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine 
with  great  ability,  and  an  annual  called  The 
Western  Souvenir,  which  gave  him  an  en- 
viable fame  all  over  the  United  States.  From 
these  beginnings  Illinois  has  gone  on  till  she 
has  more  volumes  in  public  libraries  even  than 
Massachusetts,  and  of  the  forty-four  million 
five  hundred  thousand  volumes  in  all  the  pub- 
lic libraries  of  the  United  States  she  has  one- 
thirteenth.     In  newspapers  she  stands  fourth. 

406 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Her  increase  is  marvelous.  In  1850  she  issued 
five  million  copies;  in  i860,  twenty-seven  mil- 
lion five  hundred  thousand;  in  1870,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  million  one  hundred  and 
forty  thousand.  In  i860  she  had  eighteen 
colleges  and  seminaries;  in  1870  she  had 
eighty.  That  is  a  grand  advance  for  the  war 
decade. 

War. 

This  brings  us  to  a  record  unsurpassed  in 
the  history  of  any  age,  THE  WAR  RECORD  OF 
Illinois. 

I  hardly  know  where  to  begin,  or  how  to 
advance,  or  what  to  say.  I  can  at  best  give 
you  only  a  broken  synopsis  of  her  deeds,  and 
you  must  put  them  in  the  order  of  glory  for 
yourself.  Her  sons  have  always  been  fore- 
most on  fields  of  danger.  In  1832-33,  at  the 
call  of  Governor  Reynolds,  her  sons  drove 
Black  Hawk  over  the  Mississippi.  One  call 
was  enough.  When  the  Mexican  War  came, 
in  May,  1846,  eight  thousand  three  hundred 
and  seventy  men  offered  themselves,  when  only 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
could  be  accepted.  The  fields  of  Buena  Vista 
and  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  storming  of  Cerro 
Gordo,  will  carry  the  glory  of  Illinois  soldiers 

407 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

long  after  the  infamy  of  the  cause  they  served 
has  been  forgotten.  But  it  was  reserved  till  our 
day  for  her  sons  to  find  a  field  and  cause  and 
foeman  that  could  fitly  illustrate  their  spirit 
and  heroism.  Illinois  put  into  her  own  regi- 
ments for  the  United  States  Government  two 
hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand  men,  and  into 
the  army  through  other  States  enough  to  swell 
the  number  to  two  hundred  and  ninety  thou- 
sand. This  far  exceeds  all  the  soldiers  of  the 
Federal  Government  in  all  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  Her  total  years  of  service  were 
over  six  hundred  thousand.  She  enrolled  men 
from  eighteen  to  forty-five  years  of  age,  when 
the  law  of  Congress  in  1864 — the  test  time — 
only  asked  for  those  from  twenty  to  forty-five. 
Her  enrollment  was  otherwise  excessive.  Her 
people  wanted  to  go  and  did  not  take  the  pains 
to  correct  the  enrollment.  Thus  the  basis  of 
fixing  the  quota  was  too  great,  and  then  the 
quota  itself,  at  least  in  the  trying  time,  was  far 
above  any  other  State. 

Thus  the  demands  on  some  counties,  as 
Monroe,  for  example,  took  every  able-bodied 
man  in  the  county  and  then  did  not  have 
enough  to  fill  the  quota.  Moreover,  Illinois 
sent  twenty  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
four  men  for  ninety  or  one  hundred  days,  for 

408 


thp:  greatness  of  Illinois 

whom  no  credit  was  asked.  When  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's attention  was  called  to  the  inequality  of 
the  quota  compared  with  other  States,  he  re- 
plied: "The  country  needs  the  sacrifice.  We 
must  put  the  whip  on  the  free  horse."  In  spite 
of  all  these  disadvantages  Illinois  gave  to  the 
country  seventy-three  thousand  years  of  serv- 
ive  above  all  calls.  With  one-thirteenth  of  the 
population  of  the  loyal  States,  she  sent  regu- 
larly one-tenth  of  all  the  soldiers,  and  in  the 
peril  of  the  closing  calls,  when  patriots  were 
few  and  weary,  she  then  sent  one-eighth  of  all 
that  were  called  for  by  her  loved  and  honored 
son  in  the  White  House.  Her  mothers  and 
daughters  went  into  the  fields  to  raise  the 
grain  and  keep  the  children  together,  while 
the  fathers  and  older  sons  wxnt  to  the  harvest 
fields  of  the  world.  I  knew  a  father  and  four 
sons  who  agreed  that  one  of  them  must  stay 
at  home;  and  they  pulled  straws  from  a  stack 
to  see  who  might  go.  The  father  was  left. 
The  next  day  he  came  into  camp,  saying: 
"Mother  says  she  can  get  the  crops  in,  and  I 
am  going  too."  I  know  large  Methodist 
Churches  from  which  every  male  member 
went  to  the  army.  Do  you  want  to  know  what 
these  heroes  from  Illinois  did  in  the  field? 
Ask  any  soldier  with  a  good   record  of  his 

409 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

own,  who  is  thus  able  to  judge,  and  he  will  tell 
you  that  the  Illinois  men  went  in  to  win.  It 
is  common  history  that  the  great  victories  were 
won  in  the  West.  When  everything  else 
looked  dark  Illinois  was  gaining  victories  all 
down  the  river,  and  dividing  the  Confederacy. 
Sherman  took  with  him  on  his  great  march 
forty-five  regiments  of  Illinois  infantry,  three 
companies  of  artillery,  and  one  company  of 
cavalry.  He  could  not  avoid  going  to  the  sea. 
If  he  had  been  killed,  I  doubt  not  the  men 
would  have  gone  right  on.  There  was  hardly 
an  Illinois  regiment  in  the  field  that  did  not 
have  brains  enough  to  set  up  and  run  any 
government  on  earth.  Lincoln  answered  all 
rumors  of  Sherman's  defeat  with,  'Tt  is  im- 
possible ;  there  is  a  mighty  sight  of  fight  in 
one  hundred  thousand  Western  men."  Illi- 
nois soldiers  brought  home  three  hundred  bat- 
tle flags.  The  first  United  States  flag  that 
floated  over  Richmond  was  an  Illinois  flag. 
Illinois  tested  her  courage  in  the  supreme 
trial.  She  gave  eight  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  victims  to  the  fiends  at  Andersonville. 
Let  us  cover  our  faces  as  the  shadowy  skeletons 
of  these  silent  and  uncomplaining  heroes — our 
mothers'  sons — pass  by  to  join  the  company  of 
the  glorious  dead.     The  sight  is  not  a  means 

410 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

of  grace.  God  grant  that  just  retribution  may 
be  averted  from  the  chivalry,  w^ho  might  have 
prevented  this  most  cowardly  and  most  beastly 
brutality  of  all  history! 

It  is  a  relief  to  turn  from  this  scene  to  an- 
other, in  which  the  great  State  of  Illinois  is 
sending  messengers  to  every  field  and  hospital, 
to  care  for  her  sick  and  wounded  sons.  She 
said :  "These  suffering  ones  are  my  sons,  and 
I  will  care  for  them." 

When  individuals  had  given  all,  then  cities 
and  towns  came  forward  with  their  credit  to 
the  extent  of  many  millions,  to  aid  these  men 
and  their  families. 

Heroes. 

Nothing  can  be  said  or  done  in  honor  of 
Illinois  soldiers  better  than  to  repeat  the  story 
of  their  deeds. 

I  see  the  women  of  America,  in  the  per- 
son of  the  mother.  This  is  she  who  was 
in  the  heat  of  battle  every  hour;  who  never 
knew  wiiat  each  caller  had  come  to  break  to 
her;  w^ho  seldom  slept  on  a  dry  pillow  when 
the  babe  she  had  nursed  might  have  none  for 
his  dying  head;  who,  with  a  heroism  never 
needed  by  the  soldier  in  action,  dressed  her 
boy  with  reference  to  having  his  body  robbed 

411 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

after  the  battle,  and  who  said,  like  the  Spartan 
mother  handing  her  son  his  shield:  "With  it, 
or  upon  it."  When  the  awards  are  made  for 
actual  service,  this  one  shall  not  lack  monu- 
ment or  crown  or  throne. 

I  do  not  lose  sight  of  another  character, 
upon  whom  rested  the  care  and  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility; who  shared  the  trench  with  the 
soldier,  and  fared  on  the  same  half  biscuit; 
who  was  watching  and  planning  while  the  sol- 
dier slept.  I  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  officer, 
who  deserved  all  the  honor  he  received.  Illi- 
nois furnished  her  full  share  of  these  burden- 
bearers.  See  what  a  list  of  heroes;  one  gen- 
eral— all  the  country  needed — seven  major- 
generals,  eighteen  brevet  major-generals, 
forty-five  brigadier-generals,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  brevet-brigadier-generals.  See 
what  names  they  bear  to  posterity.  Two 
Titans  to-day  in  the  Senate;  J.  A.  Logan,  who 
faced  twenty  thousand  majority  in  his  own  dis- 
trict in  Egypt,  and  carried  it  all  over  to  the 
loyal  cause ;  who  moved  on  the  field  of  battle 
like  a  thunderbolt;  whose  voice  rings  in  the 
Senate  with  no  uncertain  sound,  who  sees  the 
core  of  things,  and  calls  them  by  their  right 
names;  who  first  comprehended  the  situation 
when  restored  rebels  had  seized  upon  the  gov- 

412 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

ernment;  who  adds  to  the  courage  of  the  sol- 
dier and  the  wisdom  of  the  statesman  the  loy- 
alty of  a  patriot  and  the  faith  of  a  Christian. 
By  him  stands  stout  Senator  Oglesby, 
whose  victories  and  wounds  do  him  perpetual 
honor.  Here,  too,  is  the  present  Governor  of 
Illinois,  J.  L.  Beveridge,  who,  in  the  storm  of 
battle,  was  wont  to  say  as  he  rode  up  and  down 
in  the  thickest  of  the  fight:  ''There  is  a  God 
in  Israel," — a  man  whom  the  State  is  glad  to 
honor.  May  I  pause  to  name  such  men  as 
Rawlins,  who  organized  the  armies  and  se- 
cured victory  in  advance?  Governor  Palmer, 
General  White,  General  Wallace,  General 
McArthur,  Colonel  Mulligan,  and  William 
Pitt  Kellogg?  Party  spirit  will  die,  and  the 
future  will  vindicate  this  man.  Surely  this 
list  could  be  continued  with  satisfaction,  but — 
I  desist. 

Grant. 

I  am  now  brought  to  another  name  that 
needs  no  mention  here.  I  wish  to  speak  with 
due  deliberation,  and  for  the  hour  lift  myself 
out  of  the  smoke  and  heat  of  party  politics, 
up  into  the  pure  air  and  clarified  visions  of  im- 
partial history.  Studying  the  theme  from 
that  standpoint  which  respects  only  achieve- 

413 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ments  and  weighs  only  results,  I  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  one  supreme  military  com- 
mander of  this  century,  the  one  supreme  field 
marshal  of  all  time,  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  the 
tanner  of  Illinois.  History  will  not  forget 
that  this  man  fought  more  than  a  score  of 
ereat  battles,  and  won  more  than  a  score  of 
great  victories,  before  he  went  to  the  East  to 
turn  the  tide  there  in  favor  of  the  Union;  that 
he  never  turned  his  back  on  the  foe;  that  he 
only,  of  all  our  commanders,  never  lost  a  bat- 
tle; that  he  gained  nearly  all  the  great  vic- 
tories that  were  gained;  that  he  made  his  way 
to  the  supreme  command  with  no  aid  but  his 
sword,  and  held  it  to  the  end  without  a  blunder 
or  a  defeat. 

On  these  facts  impartial  history  will  do 
what  we  all  did  when  our  brothers  and  sons 
were  with  him  in  the  field — give  him  the 
first  place  of  honor  and  confidence.  This  is 
no  place  for  party  discussion,  and  I  shall  not 
trespass  on  the  proprieties  of  this  hour.  This 
I  will  say,  that,  when  the  annoyances  of  the 
day  are  passed,  and  posterity  studies  our  sor- 
rows, the  great  outlines  of  his  administration 
will  not  dim  his  military  glory;  and  his  Treaty 
of  Washington  will  be  held  by  the  confed- 
erated republics  of  all  lands,  gathered  in  the 

414 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

coming  future,  as  the  first  great  achievement 
that  made  their  peaceful  relations  possible — 
as  we  now  hold  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

Nothing  is  more  useless  in  the  work  of 
life  than  a  hiltless  sword.  It  is  all  edge 
and  metal,  with  no  way  to  utilize^  its 
power.  All  you  can  do  with  it  is  to  hang  it 
up  in  your  Memorial  Hall,  to  await  the  wor- 
ship of  your  grandsons.  So  it  is  with  ex-Presi- 
dents. Full  of  edge  and  metal,  they  lack  use. 
Place  them,  then,  in  the  Halls  of  History,  and 
a  grateful  posterity,  inheriting  liberties  so 
bravely  defended,  will  venerate  each  scar  and 
niche  and  rust  spot  from  foeman's  blood.  Illi- 
nois turns  from  the  past  to  the  future,  confi- 
dently awaiting  that  supreme  judgment  that 
must  place  upon  the  brow  of  her  great  Cap- 
tain the  chaplet  to  which  none  other  has  yet 
attained. 

Lincoln. 

One  other  name  from  Illinois  comes  up  in 
all  minds,  embalmed  in  all  hearts,  that  must 
have  the  supreme  place  in  this  story  of  our 
glory  and  of  our  nation's  honor;  that  name  is 
Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois.  Neither  you 
nor   that   great   Commonwealth   beyond   the 

415 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

mountains  that  has  sent  me  here  would  pardon 
me  for  not  giving  both  time  and  space  to  this 
grandest  character  of  American  history. 

The  analysis  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character  is 
difficult  on  account  of  its  symmetry.  Its  com- 
prehension is  to  us  impossible  on  account  of 
its  immensity,  for  a  man  can  be  comprehended 
only  by  his  peers.  Though  we  may  not  get  its 
altitude,  nor  measure  its  girth,  nor  fathom  its 
depths,  nor  estimate  its  richness,  we  may 
stretch  our  little  selves  up  against  it,  and  get 
somewhat  of  the  impress  of  its  purity,  the  in- 
spiration of  its  heroism,  and  the  impulse  of 
its  power. 

In  this  age  we  look  with  admiration  at  his 
uncompromising  honesty.  And  well  we  may, 
for  this  saved  us.  Thousands  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  country  who  knew 
him  only  as  ^'Honest  Old  Abe,"  voted  for  him 
on  that  account;  and  wisely  did  they  choose, 
for  no  other  man  could  have  carried  us 
through  the  fearful  night  of  the  war.  When 
his  plans  were  too  vast  for  our  comprehension, 
and  his  faith  in  the  cause  too  sublime  for  our 
participation;  when  it  was  all  night  about  us, 
and  all  dread  before  us,  and  all  sad  and  deso- 
late behind  us;  when  not  one  ray  shone  upon 
our  cause ;  when  traitors  were  haughty  and  ex- 

416 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

ultant  at  the  South,  and  fierce  and  blasphe- 
mous at  the  North ;  when  the  loyal  men  here 
seemed  almost  in  the  minority;  when  the  stout- 
est hearts  quailed,  the  bravest  cheeks  paled; 
when  generals  were  defeating  each  other  for 
place,  and  contractors  were  leeching  out  the 
very  heart's  blood  of  the  prostrate  Republic; 
when  everything  else  had  failed  us,  we  looked 
at  this  calm,  patient  man  standing  like  a  rock 
in  the  storm,  and  said  :  "Mr.  Lincoln  is  honest, 
and  we  can  trust  him  still.  He  will  bring  us 
through."  Holding  to  this  single  point  w^ith 
the  energy  of  faith  and  despair,  we  held  to- 
gether, and,  under  God,  he  brought  us  through 
to  victory. 

He  was  the  representative  character  of 
this  age.  He  incarnated  the  ideal  Republic. 
No  other  man  ever  so  fully  embodied  the  pur- 
poses, the  affections,  and  the  power  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  came  up  among  us.  He  was  one  of 
us.  His  birth,  his  education,  his  habits,  his 
motives,  his  feelings,  and  his  ambitions,  were 
all  our  own.  Had  he  been  born  among  hered- 
itary aristocrats  he  would  not  have  been  our 
President.  But  born  in  the  cabin,  and  reared 
in  the  field  and  in  the  forest,  he  became  the 
Great  Commoner.  The  classics  of  the 
schools  might  have  separated  him  from  us. 

27  417 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

But  trained  in  the  common  school  of  adversity, 
his  calloused  palms  never  slipped  from  the 
poor  man's  hand.  A  child  of  the  people,  he 
w^as  as  accessible  in  the  White  House  as  he 
had  been  in  the  cabin. 

His  practical  w^isdom  made  him  the  won- 
der of  all  lands.  With  such  certainty  did  Mr. 
Lincoln  follow  causes  to  their  ultimate  effects, 
that  his  foresight  of  contingencies  seemed  al- 
most prophetic.  While  we  in  turn  were  call- 
ing him  weak  and  stubborn  and  blind,  Europe 
was  amazed  at  his  statesmanship,  and  awed 
into  silence  by  the  grandeur  of  his  plans. 
He  held  us  by  his  greatness,  inspired  us  by 
his  gentleness,  and  brought  us  ofif  more  than 
victors. 

I  turn  to  the  past;  I  see  behind  me  a 
noble  company.  '  There  is  Napoleon,  the 
man  of  destiny.  Armies  move  at  his  bid 
as  if  they  were  the  muscles  of  his  body; 
kings  rise  and  fall  at  his  nod;  but  he 
lived  for  himself.  His  entire  life  was  a  fail- 
ure. He  did  not  accomplish  one  of  his  great 
purposes.  I  see  a  Wellington;  great  as  a 
military  chieftain,  competent  to  command 
armies  against  a  foreign  and  hereditary  foe. 
I  see  Marlborough;  but  on  every  stone  of  his 

418 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

monument  and  in  every  part  of  his  history  I 
see  the  frauds  by  which  he  enriched  himself 
from  the  plunder  of  his  country.  There  is 
Cromwell — a  fine  old  man,  England's  noblest 
son;  but  his  arena  was  small,  the  work  he  un- 
dertook limited,  the  work  he  accomplished 
ephemeral.  The  revolution  from  the  heredi- 
tary kingdom  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  hereditary 
dictatorship  of  the  Cromwells  was  not  so  great 
as  the  change  from  executing  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  in  Boston  to  the  Constitutional 
Emancipation  of  the  slave  in  Maryland.  Yet 
upon  his  death  the  government  reverted  to  the 
Stuarts.  But  upon  the  death  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  Freedom  rears  a  monument,  and  for 
new  conquests  marches  boldly  into  the  future. 
I  do  see  a  Caesar  yonder;  but  his  power  is  the 
purchase  of  fraud  and  crime,  and  falls  about 
his  grave  like  withered  weeds.  And  away 
down  yonder  in  the  dark  vortex  of  history, 
looking  out  upon  the  centuries,  is  old  Pericles. 
But  the  thirty  thousand  citizens  of  Athens  are 
lost  in  some  inland  town  of  America,  with  her 
thirty  millions  of  citizens.  There  are  many 
noble  heroes  who  illumine  the  darkness  be- 
hind us  with  the  radiance  of  some  single  vir- 
tue; but  among  them  all  I  see  only  one.     He 

419 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

is  radiant  with  all  the  great  virtues,  and  his 
memory  shall  shed  a  glory  upon  this  age  that 
shall  fill  the  eyes  of  men  as  they  look  into 
history. 

As  we  to-day  think  that  Athens  is  Greece, 
because  it  was  the  home  of  Socrates  and  of 
Pericles,  so  in  the  future  men  shall  think  that 
Illinois  is  America,  because  it  is  the  home  of 
Lincoln  and  Grant. 


Learned  Professions. 

Faulty,  indeed,  would  be  the  view  of  Illi- 
nois that  omitted  suitable  reference  to  her 
learned  professions,  though  no  more  than  a 
reference  can  be  made.  The  work  of  her 
Ministry  is  seen  in  the  high  moral  tone  of  the 
people.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 
From  Pere  Marquette  to  her  living  pulpit 
orators,  her  ministry  have  always  been  an  es- 
sential element  in  any  estimate  of  her  forces. 

The  Bar  of  Illinois  has  been  an  honorable 
Bar  from  the  beginning.  Few  States  have 
equaled  it.  In  many  noble  respects  none  have 
surpassed  it. 

It  is  enough  to  call  their  names.  They  are 
watchwords  of  ability  and  honor.  There  was 
D.  P.  Cook,  molding  the  infant  State;  also 

420 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Reynolds  and  Mills.  There  is  Stephen  T. 
Logan,  perhaps  the  best  lawyer  ever  in  the 
State.  There  is  Lincoln  and  Douglas,  and 
Trumbull  and  Drummond,  synonyms  for  legal 
ability.  There  stand  Judges  Davis,  and  Grant 
Goodrich,  and  Skates,  and  Caton,  and  Law- 
rence. There  1  see  Storrs,  and  Dexter,  and 
Larned,  and  Swett,  and  a  goodly  company 
that  would  honor  any  bar  and  any  age. 

Nor  does  the  State  suffer  when  we  turn 
toward  the  iNIedical  Profession.  Need  I  men- 
tion Daniel  Brainard,  the  surgeon  whose  knife 
played  like  a  thing  of  life?  Or  N.  S.  Davis, 
of  the  Chicago  Medical  College,  creator  of 
the  American  Medical  Association,  author  of 
the  long  and  graded  courses  for  medical  stu- 
dents? There  is  Rutter  and  Herrick  and 
Thompson  of  Albion,  father  of  the  State  Med- 
ical Society.  There,  too,  is  Blaney,  the  chem- 
ist, whose  very  glance  seemed  to  analyze  what- 
ever it  fell  upon.  There,  too,  I  see  Byford, 
and  Andrews,  and  Johnson,  and  Freer,  and 
Allen,  and  Gunn,  and  Ingals,  and  Ross.  Even 
haste  w^ould  not  justify  the  omission  of  Rouse, 
of  Peoria,  or  Hamilton,  of  Jerseyville,  or  Mc- 
Farland,  of  Jacksonville  Asylum.  Here  too, 
I  see  Jewel,  with  his  nerves,  and  Cook  of 
Mendota,  and  Haller  of  Vandalia.     Ludlum, 

421 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  Small,  and  Shipman,  all  these  are  house- 
hold words.  In  the  great  professions  Illinois 
has  a  crown  of  unfading  glory. 


Inventions. 

Time  will  not  allow  me  to  enumerate  her 
great  inventions  and  inventors,  her  McCor- 
mick's  reapers  and  Marsh  harvesters,  her  self- 
binders  and  riding-plows,  and  seed  drills  and 
steam  wagons,  her  postal  service  and  fast 
trains,  the  creations  of  her  sons. 

Young  in  years,  limited  in  experience,  and 
raw  in  culture,  Illinois  is  still  exuberant  in 
energy,  vigorous  in  intellect,  and  aggressive  in 
plans,  so  that  she  can  afiford  to  be  prodigal  of 
force  and  of  the  individual  for  the  sake  of 
glorious  achievement.  This  she  has  been  from 
the  beginning,  and  to-day  she  rejoices  in  the 
success  of  her  young  life.  She  is  a  queen,  and 
no  widow.  The  products  of  her  soil,  the  cre- 
ations of  her  industry,  and  the  children  of  her 
brain,  are  the  admiration  of  all  lands.  She 
sits  in  the  circle  of  the  States,  with  the  moon 
under  her  feet,  with  the  sun  in  her  crown, 
clothed  in  the  beauty  of  the  morning,  patiently 
watching  the  flight  of  the  years,  knowing  that 
dominion  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

422 


the  greatness  of  illinois 

Chicago. 

We  may  not  close  this  outline  of  the  great 
State  without  turning  your  attention  to  the 
great  city  at  the  head  of  the  lakes.  The  sub- 
ject itself  is  too  vast  for  the  brief  moments 
that  remain  to  this  speech. 

Spur  your  horse  for  a  half-day  up  the 
base  of  ''The  Cap  of  Liberty,"  in  the  Yo- 
semite  Valley;  stop  at  noon,  worn  and  weary, 
on  the  borders  where  vegetation  ceases; 
stretch  your  arms  up  toward  the  bold,  far- 
away summit,  and  then  you  will  feel  the  im- 
possibility of  compassing  that  bold  old  peak 
in  one  thought.  In  like  manner  set  your 
thought  upon  the  subject  before  us — this  mys- 
terious, majestic,  mighty  city,  born  first  of 
water,  and  next  of  fire;  sown  in  weakness,  and 
raised  in  power;  planted  among  the  willows 
of  the  marsh,  and  crowned  with  the  glory  of 
the  mountains ;  sleeping  on  the  bosom  of  the 
prairie,  and  rocked  on  the  bosom  of  the  sea; 
the  youngest  city  of  the  world,  and  still  the  eye 
of  the  prairie,  as  Damascus,  the  oldest  city  of 
the  world,  is  the  eye  of  the  desert.  With  a 
commerce  far  exceeding  that  of  Corinth  on 
her  isthmus,  in  the  highway  to  the  East;  with 
the  defenses  of  a  Continent  piled  around  her 

423 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

by  the  thousand  miles,  making  her  far  safer 
than  Rome  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber;  with 
schools  eclipsing  Alexandria  and  Athens ;  with 
liberties  more  conspicuous  than  those  of  the 
old  Republics;  with  a  heroism  equal  to  the 
first  Carthage,  and  with  a  sanctity  scarcely 
second  to  that  of  Jerusalem — set  your  thoughts 
on  all  this,  lifted  into  the  eyes  of  all  men  by 
the  miracle  of  its  growth,  illuminated  by  the 
flame  of  its  fall,  and  transfigured  by  the  di- 
vinity of  its  resurrection,  and  you  will  feel 
as  I  do  the  utter  impossibility  of  compassing 
this  subject  as  it  deserves.  Some  impression 
of  her  importance  is  received  from  the  shock 
her  burning  gave  to  the  civilized  world. 

When  the  doubt  of  her  calamity  was  re- 
moved, and  the  horrid  fact  was  accepted,  there 
went  a  shudder  over  all  cities,  and  a  quiver 
over  all  lands.  There  was  scarcely  a  town  in 
the  civilized  world  that  did  not  shake  on  the 
brink  of  this  opening  chasm.  The  flames  of 
our  homes  reddened  all  skies.  The  city  was 
set  upon  a  hill,  and  could  not  be  hid.  All 
eyes  were  turned  upon  it.  To  have  struggled 
and  suffered  amid  the  scenes  of  its  fall  is  as 
distinguishing  as  to  have  fought  at  Ther- 
mopylae, or  Salamis,  or  Hastings,  or  Water- 
loo, or  Bunker  Hill. 

424 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Its  calamity  amazed  the  world,  because  it 
was  felt  to  be  the  common  property  of  man- 
kind. 

The  early  history  of  the  city  is  full  of  in- 
terest, just  as  the  early  history  of  such  a  man 
as  Washington  or  Lincoln  becomes  public 
property,  and  is  cherished  by  every  patriot. 

Starting  with  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
in  1833,  it  embraced  and  occupied  twenty- 
three  thousand  acres  in  1869,  ^^^>  having  now 
a  population  of  more  than  five  hundred  thou- 
sand, it  commands  general  attention. 

Colbert,  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  so  highly 
honored  by,  and  so  honoring,  our  daily  press — 
that  strange  compound  of  music  and  mathe- 
matics, of  the  sciences  of  the  books  and  the 
items  of  a  daily  newspaper — develops  the  fact 
that  the  first  white  man  that  ever  settled  in 
Chicago  was  a  Negro.  He  opened  trade  with 
the  Indians  in  1796,  and  consecrated  this  soil 
to  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  But  more  than 
a  hundred  years  before  that,  in  1673,  Father 
Marquette  spent  some  months  here,  on  his  way 
from  the  North  to  the  Mississippi,  and,  labor- 
ing as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians,  conse- 
crated this  soil  to  Christianity.  Old  Fort 
Dearborn,  with  its  wall  of  piles,  sharpened  at 
the  top,  and  its  concealed  dugway  to  the  river, 

425 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  its  officers'  mansion  of  logs,  was  planted 
in  1812.  The  first  house  was  built  by  H.  J. 
Kinzie  in  181 5.  A  mere  trading-post  was 
kept  here  from  that  time  till  about  the  time  of 
the  Black-Hawk  war,  in  1832.  It  was  not  the 
city.  It  was  merely  a  cock  crowing  at  mid- 
night. The  morning  was  not  yet.  In  1833  the 
settlement  about  the  Fort  was  incorporated  as 
a  town.  The  voters  were  divided  on  the  pro- 
priety of  such  incorporation,  twelve  voting  for 
it  and  one  against  it.  Four  years  later  it  was 
incorporated  as  a  city,  and  embraced  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres. 

Produce. 

The  produce  handled  in  this  city  is  an  in- 
dication of  its  power.  Grain  and  flour  were 
imported  from  the  East  till  as  late  as  1837. 
The  first  exportation  by  way  of  experiment 
was  in  1839.  Exports  exceeded  imports  first 
in  1842.  The  Board  of  Trade  was  organized 
in  1848,  but  it  was  so  weak  that  it  needed  nurs- 
ing till  1855.  Grain  was  purchased  by  the 
wagon-load  in  the  street. 

I  remember  sitting  with  my  father  on  a 
load  of  wheat,  in  the  long  line  of  wagons 
along  Lake  Street,  while  the  buyers  came  and 
untied  the  bags,  and  examined  the  grain,  and 

426 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

made  their  bids.  That  manner  of  business  had 
to  cease  with  the  day  of  small  things.  Now 
our  elevators  will  hold  fifteen  million  bushels 
of  grain.  The  cash  value  of  the  produce  han- 
dled in  a  year  is  $215,000,000,  and  the  pro- 
duce weighs  seven  million  tons  or  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  car-loads.  This  handles  thir- 
teen and  a  half  tons  each  minute,  all  the  year 
round.  One-tenth  of  all  the  wheat  in  the 
United  States  is  handled  in  Chicago.  Even  as 
long  ago  as  1853  the  receipts  of  grain  in  Chi- 
cago exceeded  those  of  the  goodly  city  of 
St.  Louis,  and  in  1854  the  exports  of  grain 
from  Chicago  exceeded  those  of  New  York 
and  doubled  those  of  St.  Petersburg,  Arch- 
angel, or  Odessa,  the  largest  grain  markets 
over  the  seas. 

Manufactures. 

The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  city  are 
not  contemptible.  In  1873  manufactories  em- 
ployed forty-five  thousand  operatives;  in  1876 
sixty  thousand.  The  manufactured  product 
in  1875  ^v^s  worth  $177,000,000. 

Railroads. 

No  estimate  of  the  size  and  power  of  Chi- 
cago would  be  adequate  that  did  not  put  large 

427 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

emphasis  on  the  railroads.  Before  they  came 
thundering  along  our  streets,  canals  were  the 
hope  of  our  country.  But  whoever  thinks  now 
of  traveling  by  canal  packets?  In  June,  1852, 
there  were  only  forty  miles  of  railroad  con- 
nected with  the  city.  The  old  Galena  divi- 
sion of  the  Northwestern  ran  out  to  Elgin. 
But  now,  who  can  count  the  trains  and  meas- 
ure the  roads  that  seek  a  terminus  or  connec- 
tion in  this  city?  The  lake  stretches  away  to 
the  north,  gathering  into  this  center  all  the 
harvests  that  might  otherwise  pass  to  the 
north  of  us. 

If  you  will  take  a  map  and  look  at  the  ad- 
justment of  railroads,  you  will  see,  first,  that 
Chicago  is  the  great  railroad  city  of  the  world, 
as  New  York  is  the  commercial  city  of  this 
Continent;  and,  second,  that  the  railroad  lines 
form  the  iron  spokes  of  a  great  wheel  whose 
hub  is  this  city.  The  lake  furnishes  the  only 
break  in  the  spokes,  and  this  seems  simply 
to  have  pushed  a  few  spokes  together  on  each 
shore.  See  the  eighteen  trunk  lines,  exclusive 
of  Eastern  connections.  Pass  round  the  circle, 
and  view  their  numbers  and  extent:  There  is 
the  great  Northwestern,  with  all  its  branches, 
one  branch  creeping  along  the  Lake  shore, 
and  so  reaching  to  the  north,  into  the  Lake 

428 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

Superior  regions,  away  to  the  right,  and  on 
to  the  Northern  Pacific  on  the  left,  swinging 
around  Green  Bay  for  iron,  and  copper,  and 
silver,  twelve  months  in  the  year,  and  reach- 
ing out  for  the  wealth  of  the  great  agricultural 
belt  in  isothermal  line  traversed  by  the  North- 
ern Pacific. 

Another  branch,  not  so  far  north,  feeling 
for  the  heart  of  the  Badger  State.  Another 
pushing  lower  down  the  Mississippi — all 
these  making  many  connections,  and  tapping 
all  the  vast  wheat  regions  of  Minnesota,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  and  all  the  regions  this  side  of 
sunset.  There  is  that  elegant  road,  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  and  Quincy,  running  out  a 
goodly  number  of  branches,  and  reaping  the 
great  fields  this  side  of  the  Missouri  River. 
I  can  only  mention  the  Chicago,  Alton  and 
St.  Louis,  our  Illinois  Central,  described  else- 
where, and  the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island. 

Further  around  we  come  to  the  lines  con- 
necting us  with  all  the  Eastern  cities.  The 
Chicago  and  Indianapolis,  and  St.  Louis,  the 
Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago,  the 
Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern,  and  the 
Michigan  Central  and  Great  Western,  give  us 
many  highways  to  the  sea-board.  Thus  we 
reach  the  Mississippi  at  five  points  from  St. 

429 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Paul  to  Cairo,  and  the  gulf  itself  by  two 
routes.  We  also  reach  Cincinnati  and  Balti- 
more, and  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  and 
New  York. 

North  and'south  run  the  water  courses  of 
the  lakes  and  the  rivers,  broken  just  enough 
at  this  point  to  make  a  pass.  Through  this, 
from  east  to  west,  run  the  long  lines  that 
stretch  from  ocean  to  ocean.  This  is  the  neck 
of  the  glass,  and  the  golden  sands  of  commerce 
must  pass  into  our  hand.  Altogether  we  have 
more  than  ten  thousand  miles  of  railroad  di- 
rectly tributary  to  this  city,  seeking  to  unload 
their  w^ealth  in  our  coffers.  All  these  roads 
have  come  themselves  by  the  infallible  in- 
stincts of  capital.  Not  a  dollar  was  ever  given 
by  the  city  to  secure  one  of  them,  and  only  a 
small  per  cent  of  stock  taken  originally  by  her 
citizens,  and  that  taken  simply  as  an  invest- 
ment. Coming  in  the  natural  order  of  events, 
they  will  not  be  easily  diverted. 

There  is  still  another  showing  to  all  this. 
The  connection  between  New  York  and  San 
Francisco  is  by  the  middle  route.  This  passes 
inevitably  through  Chicago;  St.  Louis  wants 
the  Southern  Pacific  or  Kansas  Pacific,  and 
pushes  it  out  through  Denver,  and  so  on  up  to 
Cheyenne.    But  before  the  road  is  fairly  under 

430 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

way,  the  Chicago  roads  shove  out  to  Kansas 
City,  making  even  the  Kansas  Pacific  a  feeder. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that  Dakota,  Mon- 
tana, and  Washington  Territory  w^ill  find  their 
great  market  in  Chicago. 

But  these  are  not  all.  Perhaps  1  had  bet- 
ter notice  here  the  ten  or  fifteen  new  roads 
that  have  just  entered,  or  are  just  entering, 
our  city.  Their  names  are  all  that  is  necessary 
to  give.  Chicago  and  St.  Paul,  looking  up  the 
Red  River  country  to  the  British  possessions; 
the  Chicago,  Atlantic  and  Pacific;  the  Chi- 
cago, Decatur  and  State  Line;  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio;  the  Chicago,  Danville  and  Vin- 
cennes;  the  Chicago  and  La  Salle  Railroad; 
the  Chicago,  Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati ;  the 
Chicago  and  Canada  Southern;  the  Chicago 
and  Illinois  River  Railroad.  These,  with 
their  connections,  and  with  the  new  connec- 
tions of  the  old  roads  already  in  process  of 
erection,  give  to  Chicago  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  miles  of  new  tributaries  from  the 
richest  land  on  the  Continent.  Thus  there  will 
be  added  to  the  reserve  power,  to  the  capital 
within  the  reach  of  this  city,  not  less  than 
$  1 ,000,000,000. 

Add  to  all  this  transporting  power  the 
ships,  that  sail  one  every  nine  minutes  of  the 

431 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

business  hours  of  the  season  of  navigation; 
add,  also,  the  canal  boats,  that  leave  one  every 
minute  during  the  same  time — and  you  will 
see  something  of  the  business  of  the  city. 

The  commerce  of  this  city  has  been  leap- 
ing along  to  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
country  around  us.  In  1852  our  commerce 
reached  the  hopeful  sum  of  $20,000,000.  In 
1870  it  reached  $400,000,000.  In  1871  it  was 
pushing  up  above  $450,000,000.  And  in  1875 
it  touched  nearly  double  that. 

One-half  of  our  imported  goods  come  di- 
rectly to  Chicago.  Grain  enough  is  exported 
directly  from  our  docks  to  the  Old  World  to 
employ  a  semi-weekly  line  of  steamers  of  three 
thousand  tons  capacity.  This  branch  is  not 
likely  to  be  greatly  developed.  Even  after 
the  great  Welland  Canal  is  completed,  we 
shall  have  only  fourteen  feet  of  water.  The 
great  ocean  vessels  will  continue  to  control  the 
trade. 

The  banking  capital  of  Chicago  is  $24,- 
431,000.  Total  exchange  in  1875,  $659,000,- 
000.  Her  wholesale  business  in  1875  ^^^^ 
$294,000,000.  The  rate  of  taxes  is  less  than  in 
any  other  great  city. 

The  schools  of  Chicago  are  unsurpassed  in 
America.     Out  of  a  population  of  three  hun- 

432 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

dred  thousand  there  were  only  one  hundred 
and  eighty-six  persons  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  twenty-one  unable  to  read.  This  is  the 
best  known  record. 

In  1 83 1  the  mail  system  was  condensed 
into  a  half-breed,  who  went  on  foot  to  Niles, 
Michigan,  once  in  two  weeks,  and  brought 
back  what  papers  and  news  he  could  find.  As 
late  as  1848  there  was  often  only  one  mail 
a  week.  A  post-office  was  established  in  Chi- 
cago in  1833,  and  the  postmaster  nailed  up  old 
boot-legs  on  one  side  of  his  shop  to  serve  as 
boxes  for  the  nabobs  and  literary  men. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  in  the  growth  of 
the  young  city  that  in  the  active  life  of  the 
business  men  of  that  day  the  mail  matter  has 
grown  to  a  daily  average  of  over  six  thousand 
five  hundred  pounds.  It  speaks  equally  well 
for  the  intelligence  of  the  people  and  the  com- 
mercial importance  of  the  place  that  the  mail 
matter  distributed  to  the  territory  immedi- 
ately tributary  to  Chicago  is  seven  times 
greater  than  that  distributed  to  the  territory 
immediately  tributary  to  St.  Louis. 

Improvements. 

The  improvements  that  have  characterized 
the  city  are  as  startling  as  the  city  itself. 
28  433 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

In  183 1  Mark  Beaublen  established  a  ferry 
over  the  river,  and  put  himself  under  bonds 
to  carry  all  the  citizens  free  for  the  privilege 
of  charging  strangers.  Now  there  are  twenty- 
four  large  bridges  and  two  tunnels,  all  free. 

In  1833  the  government  expended  $30,000 
on  the  harbor.  Then  commenced  that  series 
of  maneuvers  with  the  river  that  has  made  it 
one  of  the  world's  curiosities.  It  used  to  wind 
around  in  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  and  make 
its  way  rippling  over  the  sand  into  the  lake  at 
the  foot  of  Madison  Street.  They  took  it  up 
and  put  it  down  where  it  now  is.  It  was  a 
narrow  stream,  so  narrow  that  even  moder- 
ately small  crafts  had  to  go  up  through  the 
willows  and  cat's  tails  to  the  point  near  Lake 
Street  Bridge,  and  back  up  one  of  the 
branches,  to  get  room  enough  in  which  to  turn 
round. 

In  1844  the  quagmires  in  the  streets  were 
first  pontooned  by  plank  roads,  which  acted 
in  wet  weather  as  public  squirt-guns.  Keep- 
ing you  out  of  the  mud,  they  compromised  by 
squirting  the  mud  over  you.  The  wooden 
block  pavements  came  to  Chicago  in  1857.  In 
1840  water  was  delivered  by  peddlers  in  carts 
or  by  hand.  Then  a  twenty-five  horse-power 
engine  pushed   it  through   hollow  or  bored 

434 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

logs  along  the  streets  till  1854,  when  it  was  in- 
troduced into  the  houses  by  new  works.  The 
first  fire-engine  was  used  in  1835,  and  the  first 
steam  fire-engine  in  1859.  Gas  was  utilized 
for  lighting  the  city  in  1850.  The  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  was  organized  in 
1858,  and  horse  railroads  carried  them  to  their 
work  in  1859.  The  museum  was  opened  in 
1863.  The  alarm  telegraph  adopted  in  1864. 
The  Opera  House  built  in  1865.  The  city 
grew  from  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
1833,  to  twenty-three  thousand  in  1869.     In 

1834  the  taxes  amounted  to  $48.90,  and  the 
trustees  of  the  tow^n  borrowed  sixty  dollars 
more  for  opening  and  improving  streets.     In 

1835  the  L.egislature  authorized  a  loan  of 
$2,000,  and  the  Treasurer  and  Street  Commis- 
sioners resigned  rather  than  plunge  the  town 
into  such  a  gulf. 

Now  the  city  embraces  thirty-six  square 
miles  of  territory,  and  has  thirty  miles  of 
water  front,  besides  the  outside  Harbor  of 
Refuge,  of  four  hundred  acres,  enclosed  by  a 
crib  sea-wall.  One-third  of  the  city  has  been 
raised  up  an  average  of  eight  feet,  giving  good 
pitch  to  the  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  miles 
of  sewerage.  The  water  of  the  city  is  above 
all  competition.     It  is  received  through  two 

435 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

tunnels  extending  to  a  crib  in  the  lake  two 
miles  from  shore.  The  closest  analysis  fails 
to  detect  any  impurities,  and,  received  thirty- 
five  feet  below^  the  surface,  it  is  always  clear 
and  cold.  The  first  tunnel  was  five  feet  two 
inches  in  diameter  and  two  miles  long,  and 
can  deliver  fifty  million  gallons  per  day. 
The  second  tunnel  is  seven  feet  in  diameter, 
and  six  miles  long,  running  four  miles  under 
the  city,  and  can  deliver  one  hundred  million 
gallons  per  day.  This  water  is  distributed 
through  four  hundred  and  ten  miles  of  water 
mains. 

The  three  grand  engineering  exploits  of 
the  city  are:  First,  lifting  the  city  up  on  jack- 
screws,  whole  squares  at  a  time,  without  in- 
terrupting the  business,  thus  giving  us  good 
drainage;  second,  running  the  tunnels  under 
the  lake,  giving  us  the  best  water  in  the  world ; 
and,  third,  the  turning  the  current  of  the  river 
in  its  own  channel,  delivering  us  from  the  old 
abominations,  and  making  decency  possible. 
They  redounded  about  equally  to  the  credit  of 
the  engineering,  to  the  energy  of  the  people, 
and  to  the  health  of  the  city. 

That  which  really  constitutes  the  city,  its 
indescribable  spirit,  its  soul,  the  way  it  lights 
up  in  every  feature  in  the  hour  of  action,  has 

436 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

not  been  touched.  In  meeting  strangers  one 
is  often  surprised  how  some  homely  women 
marry  so  welL  Their  forms  arc  bad,  their 
gait  uneven  and  awkward,  their  complexion 
is  dull,  their  features  are  misshapen  and  mis- 
matched, and  when  we  see  them  there  is  no 
beauty  that  we  should  desire  them.  But  when 
once  they  are  aroused  on  some  subject,  they  put 
on  new  proportions.  They  light  up  into  great 
power.  The  real  person  comes  out  from  its 
unseemly  ambush,  and  captures  us  at  will. 
They  have  power.  They  have  ability  to  cause 
things  to  come  to  pass.  We  no  longer  wonder 
why  they  are  in  such  high  demand.  So  it  is 
with  our  city.  To  the  stranger  it  seems  flat, 
and  cheap,  wooden.  There  is  plenty  of  wind, 
and  no  lack  of  dust,  and  a  full  supply  of  mud. 
There  is  no  grand  scenery  except  the  two  seas, 
one  of  water,  the  other  of  prairie.  Neverthe- 
less, there  is  a  spirit  about  it,  a  push,  a  breadth, 
a  power,  that  soon  makes  it  a  place  never  to 
be  forsaken.  One  soon  ceases  to  believe  in 
impossibilities.  Balaams  are  the  only  proph- 
ets that  are  disappointed.  The  bottom  that 
has  been  on  the  point  of  falling  out  has  been 
there  so  long  that  it  has  grown  fast.  It  can 
not  fall  out.  It  has  all  the  capital  of  the  world 
itching  to  get  inside  the  corporation.    As  when 

437 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

you  kill  a  Chicago  rat,  a  hundred  more  will 
come  to  the  funeral,  so  when  one  man  falls  or 
is  crushed,  a  hundred  larger  ones  leap  for  his 
place. 

When  we  turn  our  gaze  towards  the  fu- 
ture— and  turn  it  we  must,  for  we  are  all 
prophets,  and  the  sons  of  prophets — from 
questioning  that  which  is  to  come,  we  are 
startled  with  the  developments  that  are  insured 
by  the  inevitable  march  of  events. 

May  I  tell  you  what  I  see,  and  be  allowed 
to  depart  in  peace?  I  must  tell  you.  That  is 
the  purpose  for  which  I  am  here.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  an  old  hero,  I  say,  ''Strike,  but  hear!'' 

I  see  Chicago  in  the  future  as  the  GREATEST 
CITY  IN  THE  WORLD,  with  the  possible  excep- 
tion of  San  Francisco.  It  is  in  league  with 
events,  and  must  grow  to  this  measure.  It  is 
inland,  protected  from  all  foreign  foes.  It  is 
on  the  productive  belts  of  the  temperate  zone, 
where  thrive  all  the  aggressive  civilizations. 
It  is  near  the  center  of  the  Continent,  and  the 
center  of  the  great  valley  that  could  support 
a  thousand  million  people,  and  it  commands 
as  a  distributing  center  more  territory  than 
any  ten  great  cities  of  the  world  combined. 
The  two  great  laws  that  govern  the  growth 
and  size  of  cities  are,  first,  the  amount  of  terri- 

438 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

tory  for  which  they  are  the  distributing  and 
receiving  points;  second,  the  number  of  me- 
dium or  moderate  dealers  that  do  this  distrib- 
uting. Monopolists  build  up  themselves,  not 
the  cities.  They  neither  eat,  wear,  nor  live  in 
proportion  to  their  business.  Both  these  laws 
help  Chicago. 

The  tide  of  trade  is  eastward — not  up  or 
down  the  map,  but  across  the  sea.  The  lake 
runs  up  a  wing  dam  for  five  hundred  miles 
to  gather  in  the  business.  Commerce  can  not 
ferry  up  there  for  seven  months  in  the  year, 
and  the  facilities  for  seven  months  can  do  the 
work  for  twelve.  Then  the  great  region  west 
of  us  is  nearly  all  good,  productive  land. 
Dropping  south  into  the  trail  of  St.  Louis, 
you  fall  into  vast  deserts  and  rocky  districts, 
useful  in  holding  the  world  together.  St. 
Louis  and  Cincinnati,  instead  of  rivaling  and 
hurting  Chicago,  are  her  greatest  sureties  of 
dominion.  They  are  far  enough  away  to  give 
sea-room — farther  off  than  Paris  is  from  Lon- 
don— and  yet  they  are  near  enough  to  prevent 
the  springing  up  of  any  other  great  city  be- 
tween them. 

St.  Louis  will  be  helped  by  the  opening  of 
the  Mississippi,  but  also  hurt.  That  will  put 
New  Orleans  on  her  feet,  and  with  a  railroad 

439 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

running  over  into  Texas  and  so  west,  she  will 
tap  the  streams  that  now  crawl  up  the  Texas 
and  Missouri  road.  The  current  is  east,  not 
north,  and  a  seaport  at  New  Orleans  can  not 
permanently  help  St.  Louis. 

Chicago  is  in  the  field  almost  alone,  to 
handle  the  wealth  of  one-fourth  of  the  terri- 
tory of  our  great  Republic.  This  strip  of  sea- 
coast  divides  its  margins  between  Portland, 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Savannah,  or  some  other  great  port  to  be 
created  for  the  South  in  the  next  decade.  But 
Chicago  has  a  dozen  empires  casting  their 
treasures  into  her  lap.  On  a  bed  of  coal  that 
can  run  all  the  machinery  of  the  world  for  five 
hundred  centuries;  in  a  garden  that  can  feed 
the  race  by  the  thousand  years ;  at  the  head  of 
the  lakes  that  give  her  a  temperature  as  a  sum- 
mer resort  equaled  by  no  great  city  in  the 
land;  with  a  climate  that  insures  the  health  of 
her  citizens;  surrounded  by  all  the  great  de- 
posits of  natural  wealth  in  mines  and  forests 
and  herds,  Chicago  is  the  wonder  of  to-day, 
and  will  be  The  City  of  the  future. 

Fellow  citizens  of  Illinois,  and  fellow  cit- 
izens of  the  Republic,  I  am  unable  to  eulogize 
the  Prairie  State.  I  have  simply  recited  some 
of  the  facts  with  which  her  history  abounds. 

440 


THE  GREATNESS  OF  ILLINOIS 

I  can  do  no  more.  There  she  stands,  to  speak 
for  herself.  Her  soil,  her  mines,  her  herds, 
her  improvements,  her  schools,  her  Churches, 
her  intelligence,  her  liberties,  her  learned  pro- 
fessions, her  war  record,  her  heroes,  her  mar- 
tyrs, her  Presidents,  and  her  great  citizens — 
these  are  her  glory,  and  shall  be,  so  long  as 
the  nation  endures.  While  I  look  into  the  fu- 
ture, the  ages  are  rolled  together;  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Illinois  puts  on  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and  Europe  and  Asia,  coming  from  the 
East  and  from  the  West,  find  their  exchange 
in  her  great  marts.  Brothers,  it  remains  for 
us  to  complete  the  marvelous  record  by  mak- 
ing Illinois  as  good  as  Providence  will  make 
her  great.  Then  she  will  be  both  the  garden 
of  the  world  and  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 


441 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 


Delivered  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension  held  at  Third  Street  Church,  Cam- 
den, New  Jersey,  Friday  evening, 
November    19,    1875. 


443 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

Church  Extension  inheres  in  our  charac- 
ters as  believers.  As  believers  we  are  soldiers, 
mustered  in,  uniformed,  armed,  equipped,  un- 
der orders.  From  yonder  drill-camp  comes 
the  voice  of  our  great  Captain,  saying,  ''The 
world  is  the  field;"  and  from  yonder  ascen- 
sion-summit comes  His  word  of  authority, 
saying,  "Go."  With  this  divine  "go"  behind 
us,  there  is  nothing  left  us  but  to  run  this  world 
down  and  capture  it  in  the  shortest  time  pos- 
sible. As  believers,  we  must  obey.  As  free- 
believers,  we  must  act.  As  intelligent  be- 
lievers we  must  think,  and,  thinking,  we  must 
act  along  the  best  lines.  We  must  therefore 
organize  permanent  victory. 

The  world  has  been  captured  by  Satan, 
annexed  to  hell,  and  garrisoned  with  devils. 
Along  every  mountain  side  to-day  glisten  the 
hostile  lines  of  burnished  steel,  and  in  every 
valley  by  night  gleam  the  countless  camp-fires 
of  sleepless  sentinels.  So  deep  is  this  con- 
spiracy against  God,  that  the  very  soil  itself 
seems  saturated  with  sin.     In  its  malignant 

445 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

vitality  is  chokes  down  the  modest  violet  and 
the  olive  tree  with  the  thistle  and  the  thorn. 
In  all  its  wide  domain,  for  its  coming  Lord  it 
can  find  no  mother  but  a  peasant,  no  cradle 
but  a  manger,  no  protection  but  the  wilder- 
ness, no  welcome  but  missiles,  no  witnesses  but 
perjury,  no  society  but  thieves,  no  scepter  but 
the  scourge,  no  crown  but  thorns,  and  no 
throne  but  the  cross. 

The  conquest  of  such  a  world  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  impulse,  but  of  time.  First,  scouts 
must  find  its  trails  and  passes,  and  spy  out  its 
soils,  and  streams,  and  treasures.  Then  forts 
must  be  planted  in  its  strategical  points,  and 
send  out  mounted  warriors  to  protect  the  trap- 
per and  the  pioneer.  Then  colonies  will 
gather  about  these  forts,  to  occupy  and  culti- 
vate. Then,  when  harvests  are  gathered — not 
with  shout  and  saber,  but  with  song  and  scythe 
— then,  and  not  till  then,  may  the  world  be 
said  to  be  conquered.  This  means,  then,  forts, 
and  time,  and  funerals,  and  other  generations. 

Church  Extensio7i  inheres  in  our  inspira- 
tion as  saints.  Every  inspiration  is  also  a  rev- 
elation. In  some  form  it  must  declare  itself. 
It  can  not  be  shut  in.  Sorrow  sits  down  in 
silence  and  concealment,  but  joy  rushes  out. 
It  breaks  forth  into  the  highway.    It  has  noth- 

446 


ADDRESS  ON   CHURCH   EXTENSION 

ing  to  conceal,  and  neither  disposition  nor 
ability  to  conceal  it.  Thus  a  man  with  a  new 
invention  must  tell  it.  Thus  it  seems  fore- 
ordained that  most  great  inventors  should  give 
away  their  secret,  and  lose  their  rightful  for- 
tunes. A  man  with  a  great  idea  is  so  ennobled 
by  his  possession  that  he  must  bestow  like  a 
prince.  He  holds  you  by  the  button  to  show 
his  treasure.  It  matters  little  whether  it  is  a 
new  religion  or  a  new  dog-churn,  a  new  phi- 
losophy or  a  new  baby;  if  only  it  is  an  inspira- 
tion, it  must  have  room  and  time  in  w^hich  to 
be  seen  and  heard.  Great  ideas  never  die. 
They  can  not  be  killed.  They  wither  all  hos- 
tile weapons.  They  can  not  be  shut  up  in 
any  single  bosom.  If  Paul,  or  Luther,  or 
Wesley,  or  Moody  should  shut  down  the  safety 
valve,  and  undertake  to  keep  silent,  he  would 
fly  into  a  million  fragments.  The  very  stones 
would  cry  out.  I  would  as  soon  think  of  nail- 
ing up  a  ton  of  nitro-glycerine  with  an  old- 
fashioned  trip-hammer,  as  to  stop  the  safety- 
vent  on  such  an  inspiration.  This  divine  in- 
spiration has  in  it  the  Almightiness  of  life 
itself.  It  is  the  quenchless  flame.  Whenever 
a  man  feels  it  and  shuts  it  in,  it  burns  up 
through  him,  illuminating  the  gloom  about 
him,  till  it  consumes  his  greatness.     Then  it 

447 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

leaves  him  like  an  old  dead  volcano,  a  charred 
and  blackened  monument  of  eternal  wrath. 
Thus  one  cries  out,  "Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not 
the  gospel." 

I  had  rather  have  the  inspiration  of  a  great 
idea  than  to  w^ear  any  worldly  crown  for  a 
thousand  years.  These  divine  inspirations  are 
resistless.  They  are  sure  to  leave  visible  mon- 
uments of  their  power.  It  matters  not  in  what 
field  of  human  want  or  activity  they  work, 
they  leave  the  record  of  their  greatness.  If 
the  central  thought  is  conquest,  it  leaves  be- 
hind it  gory  fields  and  smoldering  cities,  new 
capitals  and  triumphal  arches.  If  it  is  gov- 
ernment or  control,  it  leaves  decalogues,  or 
codes,  or  constitutions.  If  it  is  statecraft,  its 
history  is  marked  by  great  combinations  and 
vast  intrigues.  If  it  is  holy  heroism,  it  leaves 
behind  it  crusades  and  mighty  migrations.  If 
it  is  enterprise,  it  bequeaths  to  mankind  new 
continents.  By  the  same  law,  if  it  is  the  in- 
spiration of  worship,  it  leaves  behind  it  tem- 
ples and  cathedrals.  This  highest  and  mighti- 
est of  all  impulses,  of  all  inspirations,  is  most 
certain  to  crystallize  in  monuments.  Thus  we 
are  not  surprised  to  find  that  the  oldest  songs 
are  hymns  and  anthems,  the  oldest  manuscripts 
are  divine  revelations,  the  grandest  triumphs 

448 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

of  sculpture  are  statues  of  the  gods,  and  the 
greatest  of  all  paintings  are  scenes  in  the  life 
of  the  incarnate  Christ;  and  the  grandest  and 
most  imposing  monuments  of  human  genius, 
involving  the  perfection  of  nearly  every 
known  art,  are  the  great  cathderals  at  Rome 
and  Milan.  It  inheres  in  the  inspiration  of 
worship  to  build  temples  as  certainly  as  it 
does  in  the  lark  to  make  a  nest. 

Whenever  a  poor  human  heart  has  felt  the 
divine  nearness  in  times  of  peril  or  struggle, 
the  first  impulse  has  been  to  worship,  and  the 
first  act  has  been  the  erection  of  an  altar  or 
temple.  Every  turning  point  in  Old  Testa- 
ment history  is  marked  as  a  place  of  worship. 
Yonder,  on  the  side  of  Ararat,  Noah  came 
forth  from  the  ark,  and  the  first  thing  he  did 
was  not  to  hunt  for  the  spoils  and  treasures  of 
his  overthrown  enemies,  nor  was  it  to  build 
a  house  for  himself  and  his  children,  but  it 
was  to  build  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  took 
of  every  clean  beast,  and  of  every  clean  fowl, 
and  offered  burnt  offerings  on  the  altar. 

It  is  not  without  deep  significance  that  at 
almost  every  marked  change  in  the  eventful 
life  of  Abraham,  he  built  an  altar  unto  the 
Lord.  The  Lord  called  him  to  go  forth  from 
the  familiar  scenes  of  his  childhood  into  a  land 

29  449 


ADDRESSES   ON  NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

which  He  should  show  him,  and  he  went, 
not  knowing  whither  he  went,  and  we  read 
that  he  builded  an  altar  there  and  called  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  Sent  away  out  of 
Egypt  in  peace,  after  the  famine,  he  returned 
to  his  altar  between  Bethel  and  Hai,  and 
called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Dividing  the 
land  between  his  nephew  and  himself,  he 
dwelt  in  the  plain  of  Mamre,  and  built  there 
an  altar  unto  the  Lord.  God  came  to  him  in 
his  desolation,  and  told  him  that  his  seed 
should  be  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  or  as  the 
stars  of  night  for  number,  and  that  in  his  seed 
should  all  nations  be  blessed.  Enwrapt  by 
this  vision  of  the  world's  Redeemer,  Abraham 
offers  a  costly  sacrifice,  and  watches  till  the 
night  comes  down  upon  him,  and  a  smoking 
furnace  and  a  burning  lamp  passed  through 
between  the  separated  parts  of  his  offering, 
and  he  knew  that  God  ratified  his  covenant. 
Thus  it  has  been  in  all  ages  of  the  Church. 
Whenever  a  soul  has  been  exalted  by  a  divine 
revealment,  the  first  impulse  has  been  to  erect 
an  altar  or  a  place  of  worship.  Yonder,  on 
Hermon's  side,  Jesus  goes  up  from  the  heat 
of  the  valley  and  dust  of  the  highway,  tak- 
ing with  Him  the  chosen  three.  There,  in 
the  solitude  of  the  mountain,  and  in  the  quiet 

450 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

of  the  evening,  He  is  transfigured  before  them. 
He  reclaims  a  little  of  His  ancient  glory.  His 
beauty  flashes  out  upon  them.  His  face  shines 
like  the  sun,  and  His  raiment  is  white  as  the 
light.  The  whole  crest  of  the  mountain  shines 
with  the  halo  of  heaven.  So  near  are  they  to 
the  unseen  worlds  that  Moses  and  Elias,  the 
chiefs  of  their  earlier  dispensations,  flit  out 
into  open  sight.  The  wondering  fishermen 
fall  down  before  this  glory.  Peter,  bewil- 
dered in  this  new  revelation  of  the  Galilean's 
greatness,  hardly  knowing  what  he  was  saying, 
cried  out  in  the  natural  impulse  of  inspiration, 
^'Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here;  if  Thou 
wilt,  let  us  make  here  three  tabernacles,  one 
for  Thee,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias." 
Divinely  blest,  the  first  thought  is  to  house  the 
heavenly  visitant.  Build  a  tabernacle,  or  a 
temple,  or  an  altar.  Do  something,  do  any- 
thing, do  everything  to  perpetuate  this  exalted 
privilege. 

Thus  it  happens  that  Church  Extension  in- 
heres in  our  inspiration  as  saints.  This  is  as 
it  ought  to  be.  It  shocks  up  the  results  of  such 
an  experience.  It  crystallizes  the  glory  for 
future  use.  Religious  glory,  like  every  other 
glory,  is  of  value  only  as  it  can  be  utilized. 
Mere   sentiment,   that   does   not  harden   into 

451 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

working  purpose,  is  worse  than  nothing.  It 
burns  out  the  tissues  of  the  spirit  without  gen- 
erating any  power.  Condense  this  flow  of 
feeling  and  gush  of  sentiment  into  activities 
and  sacrifices,  then  the  soul  grows  great  as 
it  serves. 

//  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  definite  cove- 
nant, and  signs  of  its  acceptance.  God  does 
not  utter  His  revelation  forth  into  the  ether 
in  which  we  and  the  stars  float  alike,  regard- 
less of  what  its  direction  may  be.  But  He 
comes  to  smoking  altars,  and  consecrated  tem- 
ples, with  specific  announcements,  with  a  vis- 
ible and  tangible  Decalogue,  with  an  inspired 
Book,  with  an  incarnated  Son.  Definiteness 
characterizes  His  covenants.  He  intends  them 
to  hold  the  slippery  faith.  A  large  per  cent 
of  the  semi-infidelity  of  Christians  comes  from 
the  vagueness  of  their  conversion.  I  like  an 
even  experience,  but  all  the  advantages  are 
not  on  either  side  of  this  subject.  It  compen- 
sates for  hours  of  struggle  to  be  brought  off 
more  than  conqueror.  The  night  is  remem- 
bered with  joy  when  our  hearts  are  skipping 
in  the  broad  sunlight. 

I  am  not  troubled  with  fatalism.  I  have 
no  doubt  concerning  man's  awful  preroga- 
tives and  grand  endowments,  but  I  do  believe 

452 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

that  a  man  soundly  converted  in  the  good  old- 
fashioned  way,  with  an  appalling  consciousness 
of  guilt,  desperation  concerning  self-help,  and 
the  clear  sense  of  pardon  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  not 
likely  to  backslide  so  as  to  cast  away  his  hope. 
When  Satan  assails  him  with  doubts  and 
skepticism,  he  can  go  back  to  some  given  place 
and  time  when  God  for  Christ's  sake  forgave 
his  sins,  and  he  knows  that  the  religion  is  true. 
Many  of  you  recall  sacred  spots  in  the  coun- 
try, in  some  little  old  church,  or  in  some  pri- 
vate house,  or  in  some  quiet  grove,  or  at  some 
camp-meeting,  where  you  struggled  and  found 
peace,  and  learned  what  the  brethren  meant 
when  they  talked  about  ''getting  through." 
Satan  can  never  drive  you  from  that  old  spot. 
You  marked  it.  It  is  the  gate  of  heaven  to 
your  soul.  I  remember  a  certain  fence  cor- 
ner by  the  roadside,  where  I  knelt  alone  in 
the  slush,  and  told  God  I  would  take  a  circuit 
or  anything  else  He  would  give.  I  know  that 
covenant  meant  business,  and  Satan  never  gets 
me  out  of  that  place.  It  is  a  good  thing  to 
have  definite  covenants,  and  signs  of  their  ac- 
ceptance. This  great  law  that  always  de- 
mands the  incarnation  or  crystallization  of  its 
inspiration,  makes  this  temple-building  a  nec- 
essary part  of  the  inspirations  themselves. 

453 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  value  of  a  church  building  is  found 
also  in  the  fact  that  the  church  becomes  a 
headquarters,  a  rallying  point  for  all  who  feel 
the  power  of  the  truth.  There  is  much  in  hav- 
ing a  fixed  habitation.  All  the  great  move- 
ments have  culminated  around  some  organiz- 
ing center.  The  common  politician  must  have 
a  place  that  represents  his  interest,  and  where 
he  can  be  found.  The  organization  of  an 
army  is  chiefly  a  question  of  shaping  the  com- 
mon feeling  and  purposes  of  men.  All  people 
bow  beneath  a  common  load.  They  feel  a 
common  wrong.  They  crowd  together  in  the 
darkness,  and  mutter  in  each  other's  ears  their 
common  discontent.  By  and  by  some  master 
spirit,  with  the  sixth  sense  of  ability  to  organ- 
ize success,  speaks  up  and  out,  the  common 
want.  It  is  a  vent  for  all  hearts.  They  now 
have  a  war-cry  and  a  rallying  point.  Then  the 
rest  of  the  work  is  done.  It  does  itself.  The 
army  is  only  the  oppressed  mass  marching 
around  one  imperial  will.  With  this  center 
and  rallying  point,  it  is  a  host  of  conquering 
freemen.  Without  this  center  it  disintegrates 
into  a  mob  of  slaves.  The  Church  obeys  this 
universal  law,  according  to  which  power  al- 
ways gravitates  to  the  centers.  Science  says 
that  this  law  is  in  things  according  to  which 

454 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

the  diffused  light  of  "the  Beginning"  drew  up 
together  in  masses,  forming  suns  and  worlds. 
So  experience  demonstrates  that  social  and 
spiritual  powers  find  centers,  and  break  forth 
into  expressions,  and  embody  themselves. 
Thus,  by  a  deep  order  in  things,  evil  spirits 
must  have  a  prince  and  a  palace.  Thus,  also 
the  forces  of  righteousness  must  have  a  head 
and  a  home.  Thus  churches,  temples,  altars, 
places  of  worship,  are  necessary  parts  of  re- 
ligion. It  may  seem  crude,  but  it  is  true,  that 
a  religion  that  can  not  command  an  altar  can 
not  command  anything  else.  I  would  as  soon 
think  of  clearing  up  a  farm  in  a  Michigan 
forest  with  a  company  of  disembodied  spirits, 
fed  on  zephyrs,  as  to  undertake  the  salvation 
of  this  world  with  a  religion  that  had  no 
shrines  or  local  habitations.  The  four  great 
conditions  for  the  success  of  religion  are,  first,, 
an  arch  enemy  to  fight  and  fear;  second,  a 
creed  to  accept  and  defend;  third,  a  priest- 
hood, to  incarnate  and  illustrate  its  inspira- 
tions; fourth,  temples,  with  which  to  catch  the 
eye  of  sense,  and  in  which  to  keep  the  ark  and 
covenant. 

Religion  is  like  a  man  in  this:  It  weighs 
in  a  community  just  in  proportion  as  it  is 
rooted  into  the  soil.    The  man  who  stays  in  a 

455 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

boarding-house  never  weighs  much  in  a  com- 
munity, unless  his  business  leads  him  down 
into  reliability.  Any  man  who  lives  in  a 
trunk,  and  who  can  consequently  be  checked 
to  the  next  station  between  dark  and  daylight, 
never  can  hold  the  lines.  So  it  is  with  a  re- 
ligious society.  It  must  go  to  housekeeping 
before  it  can  command  the  public  confidence, 
and  have  a  fair  chance  for  usefulness.  The 
term  ''carpet-bagger"  has  added  ten  years  to 
our  strifes  and  sacrifices  in  the  South.  A  first 
necessity  is  to  demonstrate  everywhere  per- 
manence. That  will  insure  us  power,  and  give 
us  a  fair  chance.  Every  church  built  is  an 
anchor  which  no  storm  can  drag.  The  old 
mathematician  cried  out:  "Give  me  a  place 
for  my  fulcrum,  and  I  can  lift  the  world." 
Jesus,  when  He  went  into  the  synagogue  of 
Nazareth,  found  that  outside  spot.  The 
church  is  the  spot  where  all  the  elevating 
power  is  applied. 

The  Athenian  theater,  which  was  also  the 
Athenian  Church,  was  the  factor  in  that  great 
city  that  lifted  the  people  up  from  the  strifes 
of  the  prize-ring,  and  set  them  on  competing 
with  tragedies,  orations,  and  songs.  Here  the 
heroism  of  the  country  was  kindled,  and  here 
that   elevated   taste   was    fostered   that   made 

456 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

Athens  the  studio  of  the  world,  and  the  Athen- 
ians the  teachers  of  mankind.  In  our  day  we 
see  a  powerful  Church,  with  the  most  compact 
organization  of  all  history,  with  her  power 
condensed  like  a  fist,  for  the  wisest  and  most 
efficient  use ;  with  a  body  of  trained  diplomats 
and  statesmen  in  her  places  of  power;  with  all 
her  mighty  purposes  unalterably  fixed  to  sub- 
due all  institutions,  and  absorb  all  power  in 
her  own  unscrupulous  government,  and  with 
plans  that  are  laid  and  wrought  out  by  the 
thousand  years ;  we  see  this  Church  so  com- 
pact, so  manned,  so  directed,  so  purposed, 
bending  her  mighty  energies  for  the  erection 
of  churches.  She  purposes  dominion.  Long 
ago  she  sold  herself  to  Satan  for  that  prize. 
She  brings  into  use  her  vast  experience,  gained 
in  the  struggles  and  victories  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred years.  She  has  all  the  wisdom  of  chil- 
dren of  this  generation.  And  she  commits 
her  cause  largely  to  her  church  buildings. 
With  her  grand,  historic  old  pile  in  Rome, 
that  stands  the  wonder  of  the  centuries,  she 
astonishes  and  attracts  the  race,  and  with  her 
churches  scattered  in  all  our  cities,  she  seeks 
to  hold  her  own  people,  and  capture  others. 
Do  you  tell  me  that  this  false  Church  is  a 
pirate,  cruising  the  high  seas  of  the  nineteenth 

457 


addressb:s  on  notable  occasions 

century,  defying  the  Lord  High  Admiral  of 
the  world,  and  preying  upon  His  peaceful 
commerce,  and  is  not  to  be  copied?  This  must 
answer  all  cavil.  She  is  a  magnificent  craft, 
with  stanch  beams,  perfect  proportions,  and 
vast  tonnage.  She  needs  little  overhauling. 
The  trouble  is  in  her  crew,  and  captain,  and 
flag.  We  only  need  to  change  the  murderous 
crew  for  honest  tars,  and  throw  the  bloody 
captain  overboard,  and  commission  a  com- 
mander who  is  loyal  to  the  court  of  heaven, 
and  then  haul  down  the  black  flag  and  run  up 
the  banner  of  the  Cross.  That  is  all  we  need 
to  change.  The  ship  is  good,  and  rightly 
manned  she  can  do  noble  service  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  world.  Her  elements  of  great- 
ness can  be  repeated.  Her  power  can  be  re- 
produced for  good.  The  argument  is  this: 
Whatever  buildings  can  do  for  ancient  and 
modern  heathenism,  they  can  be  made  to  do 
for  Christ.  If  Rome  can  house  the  multitudes 
with  no  spirit,  no  gospel,  no  food,  by  the  mere 
assurances  and  attractions  of  her  cold  temples, 
surely  we  may  hope  that  the  same  agencies,  re- 
inforced by  spirit,  and  gospel,  and  manna,  will 
succeed. 

A  Church  in  a  community  wins  its  way  be- 
cause it  is  the  most  efficient  police.    The  power 

458 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

that  makes  it  possible  for  a  number  of  people 
to  meet  in  a  public  assembly  and  return  home 
in  safety  and  peace,  is  not  the  few  hired  watch- 
men that  patrol  your  streets,  but  the  spirit  that 
goes  out  from  these  Churches.  It  is  this  re- 
straining presence  of  God  that  takes  the  mis- 
siles out  of  the  air  and  the  bludgeons  out  of 
the  assassins'  hands.  It  is  this  that  secures  your 
possessions  and  keeps  holy  watch  over  your 
nightly  slumbers. 

A  Church  in  a  community  wins  its  way 
because  it  is  a  great  educator.  Its  pulpit  de- 
livers two  lectures  a  wxek  on  the  most  vital 
and  most  sublime  of  all  themes.  The  pastor, 
in  intelligence,  is  above  the  average  of  the 
community.  He  gives  his  time  to  the  prep- 
aration of  things  new  and  old  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  community.  I  have  no  manner  of 
doubt  that,  poor  and  dull  as  we  often  find  the 
preaching,  it  still  imparts  more  religious  in- 
struction, and  builds  up  the  public  morals  far 
more  than  all  other  agencies  combined. 

A  Church  in  a  community  vindicates  its 
existence  even  though  it  does  no  more  than 
cause  the  people  to  assemble  once  in  seven 
days.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  people  to  regu- 
larly array  themselves  in  their  best  apparel, 
and  come  together  to  see  and  be  seen.    Even  if 

459 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

there  is  no  worship  and  no  instruction  in- 
volved, it  is  still  a  good  thing  for  every  one, 
at  least  once  a  week,  to  come  under  the  gaze 
of  the  public  eye.  If  you  doubt  it,  go  into  a 
community  where  there  are  no  Sabbaths  and 
no  worshiping  congregations,  and  you  shall 
see  in  the  unwashed  mob,  who  seldom  find  a 
natural  grave,  the  desperate  condition  of  a 
Churchless  land. 

Every  argument  for  the  extension  of 
Churches  is  a  vindication  of  the  claims  of  this 
Board.  For  an  obligation  to  do  anything  al- 
ways implies  the  means  necessary  for  its  ac- 
complishment. 

There  comes  up  an  argument  in  favor  of 
this  society  from  the  very  enemies  which  we 
must  antagonize  in  this  country.  The  devils 
that  seem  to  have  roving  commissions,  so  that 
they  are  found  wherever  humanity  exists,  need 
not  claim  our  special  attention.  We  have  a 
trinity  of  evils,  an  infernal  trinity  in  this  land, 
that  courts  the  spear  of  every  knight.  Rum, 
Rationalism,  and  Romanism  are  the  American 
triumvirate  in  evil.  It  is  difficult,  in  this  pres- 
ence, to  tell  which  is  Cassar's  ghost.  Either, 
studied  alone,  seems  the  imperiling  horror 
of  our  civilization.     We  have  no  scales   in 

460 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

which  to  weigh  the  desolations  of  nan.  The 
plagues  of  Egypt  were  a  blessing  in  compari- 
son with  this  monstrosity.  Intrenched  in  every 
citadel,  commanding  every  street  in  the  land, 
violating  every  law,  trampling  every  right, 
robbing  every  public  or  private  purse,  threat- 
ening every  citizen,  and  filling  the  whole  air 
with  impending  horrors,  this  mammoth  mon- 
ster, that  desolates  States  where  slavery  did 
counties,  that  tortures  its  favored  criminals 
into  objects  of  pity,  and  agonizes  its  innocent 
victims  beyond  all  expression  of  sympathy — 
this  monster  makes  our  utmost  resistance  nec- 
essary to  our  very  existence. 

On  the  right  of  this  central  figure,  like  an- 
other harpie,  stands  rationalism,  with  lip  of 
scorn,  and  eye  of  contempt,  holding  in  its 
hands,  like  a  murderous  mob,  the  broken  tab- 
lets of  the  Decalogue,  with  which  to  wound  the 
face  of  peace,  and  trampling  beneath  its  crim- 
son and  cloven  feet  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath 
and  of  every  Christian  altar.  This  monster, 
taking  the  inspiration  out  of  the  Bible,  the  di- 
vinity out  of  religion,  the  Savior  out  of  the 
race,  immortality  out  of  the  soul,  and  all  hope 
out  of  humanity;  this  monster,  tyrannizing  in 
the  name  of  liberty,  rioting  in  the  name  of 

461 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

order,  robbing  in  the  name  of  honesty,  de- 
bauching in  the  name  of  purity,  assassinating 
in  the  name  of  friendship,  and  crucifying  in 
the  name  of  morality — -this  monster  calls  forth 
every  hand  that  can  resist  and  every  voice 
that  can  warn. 

On  the  left  of  the  central  figure  is  another 
form,  Romanism,  that  defies  description. 
Part  mortal,  part  angel,  and  part  demon. 
With  the  face  of  a  woman,  but  painted  and 
brazoned  like  a  harlot;  with  the  form  and 
robes  of  an  angel,  but  drabbled  and  stained 
in  the  sewer;  and  with  the  claws  and  teeth  of 
a  devil,  but  concealed  with  slippers  and  cov- 
ered with  caresses.  A  purely  temporal  and 
political  organization,  under  the  name  of  a 
Church,  kindling  upon  the  altars  of  the  sanc- 
tuary the  camp-fires  for  her  carnal  conquests. 
She  uses  all  the  services  of  religion,  and  far 
exceeds  the  Lord  in  instituting  sacraments,  but 
she  leaves  the  mass  of  her  worshipers  ignorant 
of  the  peace  of  pardon,  and  strangers  to  puri- 
fying power.  She  seeks  to  control  all  the- 
ology with  the  thumb-screw  and  the  fagot, 
that  she  may  substitute  the  fiction  of  her  creed 
for  the  God  of  Revelation.  She  grasps  after 
all  education,  that  she  may  teach  the  lives  of 
fabulous  saints  instead  of  the  truths  of  science. 

462 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

She  purposes  to  corrupt  and  control  the  bal- 
lot-box, that  she  may  enthrone  the  Scarlet 
Woman  on  the  ruins  of  the  republic. 

Would  you  know  how  she  teaches  religion? 
Go  study  the  arguments  of  the  Inquisition, 
follow  in  the  trail  of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and 
listen  to  the  crying  blood  of  the  martyrs. 
Would  you  know  how  she  teaches  science? 
Go  to  Italy,  the  mother  of  letters  and  of  dead 
empires,  the  ancient  home  of  learning,  now  the 
block-head  among  the  nations — of  all  Euro- 
pean people  the  least  able  to  read  even  the 
titles  of  her  ancient  greatness.  Italy,  the  lineal 
descendant  and  rightful  heir  of  the  world's 
rulers;  rich  with  the  mightiest  dust  of  all  he- 
roes ;  ennobled  by  the  right-royal  line  of  Julius 
and  the  young  Augustus ;  inspired  by  the  voice 
of  Cicero;  transformed  by  the  death  of  Paul, 
and  sanctified  by  the  blood  of  the  saints; 
mournful,  melancholy,  magnificent  Italy,  can 
tell  you  what  a  devoted  people  learns  in  this 
school  of  bigotry.  Would  you  know  how  she 
teaches  political  economy,  how  a  people  grows 
rich  with  ecclesiastical  princes  to  legislate  in 
the  interest  of  religious  orders,  and  with  vast 
hordes  of  indolent  professional  saints  to  con- 
sume the  labor  of  the  industrious?  Go  and 
gaze  in  pity  on  impoverished  Spain,  the  beg- 

463 


ADDRESSES    ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

gar  of  the  nations.  Spain,  two  centuries  ago 
the  banker  of  Europe,  on  whose  possessions 
the  sun  never  set,  whose  people,  distinguished 
in  art  and  in  arms,  pushed  their  renown  to 
every  zone,  and  their  commerce  to  every  sea; 
but  to-day,  by  a  clerical  policy  that  could  find 
no  better  use  for  her  prosperous  merchants 
than  to  torture  them  in  the  Inquisition  for 
their  treasures,  and  no  better  use  for  millions 
of  her  most  industrious,  intelligent,  and  honest 
subjects  than  to  burn  them  for  the  gratification 
of  her  priests  and  for  the  glory  of  the  Church, 
by  this  policy  reduced  to  abject  penury. 
Spain,  with  her  ships  swept  from  the  seas,  her 
explorers  buried  in  the  dust  of  oblivion,  her 
manufactories  consumed  in  the  fires  of  perse- 
cution, and  her  agriculture  dwindled  to  the 
verge  of  barbarism;  this  dying  remnant  of  a 
nationality  can  tell  you  how  nations  grow 
rich  with  the  pontifical  leech  on  their  breasts. 
Would  you  know  how  Rome  teaches  civil 
polity?  Go  to  yonder  gem  of  the  sea,  green 
Erin,  the  Island  of  the  Heart,  and  study  the 
story  of  her  wrongs  and  of  her  ruin.  Once  the 
seat  of  empire  and  the  home  of  philosophy, 
the  mother  of  genius  and  of  great  institutions, 
now  only  a  mangled  and  decaying  corpse  in 
the  highway  along  which  the  nations  march 

464 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

up  to  greatness.  With  her  sovereignty  di- 
vided; part,  which  she  loves,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tiber,  and  part,  which  she  fears,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames;  leaving  only  the  tomb, 
which  she  mourns,  on  the  banks  of  the  Shan- 
non; with  her  patriotism,  the  marv^el  of  man- 
kind, kindling  and  guarding  the  fires  on  every 
national  altar  except  Erin's;  with  her  courage 
filling  every  army  under  the  sun  except  the 
Irish  army;  with  her  heroism  emblazoning 
every  flag  on  earth  except  the  Irish  flag;  and 
with  her  genius  guiding  to  greatness  and  glory 
every  ship  of  state  except  the  Irish  craft.  Go 
to  her  native  bogs,  and  weep  over  her  famine 
and  her  squalor,  then  you  shall  see  how  Rome 
teaches  civil  polity,  and  fosters  freedom  by 
manacle  and  gag. 

This  great  enemy,  that  corrupts  the  world's 
conscience;  this  great  highwayman,  that  blud- 
geons and  robs  nations  and  continents;  this 
masked  assassin,  that  stabs  national  freedom, 
has  made  a  safe  landing  and  sure  footing  on 
our  soil.  Already  it  has  seized  millions  of 
public  treasures,  and  become  an  established 
Church,  except  in  name.  Already  it  dictates 
rulers  to  our  greatest  commonwealths.  Al- 
ready it  has  put  its  blasting  hand  upon  the 
Bible  it  used  to  burn,  and  starts  it  out  of  our 

30  465 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

public  schools  back  towards  this  public  bon- 
fire. Already  it  rushes  to  the  polls  in  great 
States  on  avowed  principles  of  public  perse- 
cution. Already  it  demands  the  destruction 
of  the  common  schools  in  the  absorption  of  the 
funds.  The  day  of  her  modest  concealment  is 
gone,  and  we  shall  live  because  she  can  not 
help  herself.  True,  she  has  lost  Louisiana, 
which  was  hers  when  she  had  twenty  thousand 
or  fifty  thousand  poulation,  but  she  has  gained 
the  Empire  State.  True,  she  has  lost  Mary- 
land, but  she  has  nearly  or  quite  gained  Massa- 
chusetts, and  she  is  intrenched  in  every  city  of 
the  land,  and  hopes  through  these  passes  to 
control  the  votes  and  sovereignty  of  the  States. 
This  is  no  insignificant  foe,  grown  in  the  short 
life  of  our  government,  from  one  one-hun- 
dredth of  our  population  in  1784  to  one-sixth 
of  our  entire  population  in  1874.  It  is  a  sig- 
nificant fact  that  the  most  sagacious  politician 
of  Massachusetts  bids  for  Papal  votes,  and 
counts  upon  the  old  Bay  State,  the  very  cradle 
of  liberty  and  bulwark  of  Puritanism,  as  a 
Roman  State.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  one  of  the 
calmest  and  greatest  of  living  men;  the  man 
of  all  others  who  has  demonstrated  a  cool  and 
accurate  judgment,  who  never  speaks  except 

466 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

in  great  emergencies,  should  deliver  his  first 
written  lengthy  speech  on  this  question  to  the 
army,  and  talk  to  them  of  war.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  Grant  in  the  United  States, 
Gladstone  in  Great  Britain,  and  Bismarck 
in  Germany,  the  most  prudent  and  powerful 
representatives  of  the  three  great  Protestant 
nations  of  the  earth,  should  be  driven  to  sound 
the  alarm  against  this  menacing  monster.  It 
is  a  significant  fact  that  just  now,  when  every 
great  power  in  Europe  is  circumventing  or 
banishing  the  minions  of  this  infallible  des- 
potism, as  dangerous  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State,  and  fatal  to  the  freedom  of  the  subjects; 
that  just  now  a  Cardinal's  throne,  supporting 
the  rank  of  a  temporal  prince,  should  be 
planted  in  our  great  metropolis,  to  flaunt  in 
the  public  gaze  titles  which  are  forbidden  to 
every  American  citizen  by  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  land.  Surely,  this  is  no  indifferent 
foe.  Rome  lays  her  plans  for  a  thousand 
years,  and  pursues  them  through  successive 
generations.  Her  workmen  die,  but  it  is  her 
boast  that  she  never  changes.  She  is  the  same 
old  tiger  she  was  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Caged,  she  seems  a  handsome  creature,  with 
velvet  coat  and  cushioned  paws;  but  out  once, 
among  your  children,   she  is   the  malignant 

467 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

monster  of  the  jungle.  Hear  me,  and  I  would 
to  God  I  could  cry  it  in  the  startled  ear  of 
every  American  citizen,  this  is  our  most  dan- 
gerous foe.  Rum  is  branded  as  a  demon,  and 
must  fight  in  the  open  field.  Rationalism  can 
not  long  keep  house,  for  it  has  neither  food 
nor  fire.  But  Romanism  wears  the  form  of 
sainthood,  and  crouches,  dagger  in  hand,  by 
the  very  altars  of  religion,  to  assassinate  all 
who  will  not  accept  her  temporal  authority. 
By  our  love  of  freedom,  by  our  love  of  truth, 
by  our  courage  to  contend  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,  by  our  love  of  mercy, 
and  by  our  hope  of  heaven,  we  must  cry  with 
our  fathers,  "No  peace  with  the  Papacy  and 
no  compromise  with  Rome." 

These  are  our  great  enemies,  and  their 
existence  creates  an  imperative  demand  for 
the  most  vigorous  and  persistent  prosecution 
of  this  work.  We  are  shut  up  to  this  work. 
The  tiger  is  at  our  throat.  Hold  still,  and 
w^e  are  dead.  The  unhoused  and  dauntless 
thousands  who  are  out  on  the  border,  empire 
founding,  and  the  unhoused  and  patient  mil- 
lions just  up  from  the  land  of  Egypt — these 
hold  the  key  of  fate.  They  are  a  fort  in  the 
pass  between  the  present  and  the  future. 
Whoever  gets   in  wins,   and   dictates  law  to 

468 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

mankind.     The  Board  of  Church  Extension 
will  put  us  in  the  fort. 

The  field  to  be  occupied  demands  this 
work.  The  field  is  this  country,  on  the  belt  of 
power,  where  the  conquering  races  live.  It 
is  a  land  whose  productions  can  not  even  be 
computed.  It  is  a  land  having  single  valleys 
in  which  every  member  of  the  human  family 
could  be  fed  for  a  thousand  years ;  a  land  hav- 
ing single  States  whose  iron  mines  could  an- 
nually bridge  every  ocean  with  iron-clads; 
whose  gold  mines  could  pay  every  public  and 
private  debt  on  earth;  whose  silver  mines 
could  pave  every  street  in  every  city  on  the 
continent;  a  land  having  solitary  coal-beds  in 
which  Great  Britain  or  many  of  the  European 
countries  could  be  placed  without  being  in  the 
way.  This  is  the  field  we  are  commissioned 
to  capture.  This  work  is  thrust  upon  us,  and 
we  must  gird  on  our  power  or  be  driven  from 
the  field.  The  United  States  Census,  that 
Book  of  Martyrs,  in  which  not  individuals  but 
States  are  the  victims,  sounds  the  alarm.  In 
1850  we  had  14,234,825  church  sittings  for 
23,191,876  people,  or  accommodations  for  62 
per  cent,  or  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  entire 
population.  In  i860  we  had  19,128,751 
church  sittings  for  31,443,321  people,  or  ac- 

469 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

commodations  for  60  per  cent  of  the  entire 
population.  In  1870  we  had  21,665,062 
church  sittings  for  38,558,371  people,  or  ac- 
commodations for  53  per  cent,  or  a  little 
over  half  the  entire  population.  This  is  going 
the  wrong  way.  Ruin  is  only  a  question  of 
time.  Like  the  man  climbing  a  smooth  tree 
to  escape  from  wolves,  this  slipping  down 
must  be  stopped  or  we  will  soon  be  converted 
into  wolf-bone  and  wolf-blood. 

I  need  only  mention  the  great  fields  in  the 
South,  with  her  cotton  and  easy  climate,  and 
in  the  West,  with  her  agricultural  empires 
and  exhaustless  mines.  The  children  from  our 
homes  are  scattered  all  over  these  regions. 
They  are  often  too  poor  to  build  churches.  It 
becomes  our  imperative  duty  to  see  to  it  that 
the  churches  are  built  and  paid  for.  This 
makes  the  demand  immense  and  magnificent. 

The  glory  of  this  Church  Extension  work 
is  manifest  in  the  fact  that  God  especially  hon- 
ors His  house.  The  sanctity  of  religion  itself 
is  first  embodied  and  emphasized  in  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  place  of  its  celebration.  Few  scenes 
recorded  in  the  Book  of  God  are  as  impressive 
as  the  appearance  of  God  upon  Mount  Sinai 
for  the  giving  of  the  law.  The  very  mountain 
itself  was  hallowed.     It  was  set  about  with 

470 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

bounds  beyond  which  the  people  might  not 
come.  For  three  days  and  nights  the  people 
were  compelled  to  cleanse  and  sanctify  them- 
selves. Then  only  the  chosen  priests  and 
prophets  were  allowed  to  go  up  into  the  sacred 
summit.  The  mountain  trembled,  its  sides 
were  wrapped  in  smoke  and  darkness,  and  its 
top  was  capped  with  light  and  fire.  Every- 
thing that  could  impress  the  sacredness  of  the 
event  was  called  into  service.  Even  the 
prophet,  on  his  return,  was  so  clothed  with 
light  and  righteousness  that  the  people  could 
not  bear  the  brightness  of  his  face,  and  needed 
to  be  shielded  by  a  veil. 

A  little  earlier  we  read,  when  God  would 
speak  with  His  chosen  prophet  from  the  burn- 
ing bush,  the  very  ground  was  declared  to 
be  holy. 

No  man  can  read  the  care  with  which  the 
temple  was  made  and  kept  by  the  holy  order 
of  the  priesthood,  consecrated,  clothed  in  clean 
raiment,  adorned  with  emblematic  regalia, 
and  sanctified  with  the  service,  and  not  feel 
that  God's  abode  is  indeed  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
Study  the  temple  and  its  service,  revealed  in 
the  mountain,  built  by  special  inspiration,  hav- 
ing God  to  superintend  its  most  minute  speci- 
fications ;  with  its  sacred  enclosure,  its  court  of 

471 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  women,  court  of  the  Gentiles,  place  of  the 
Jews,  its  holy  place  for  the  priests,  and  its 
inner  shrine,  where  was  the  shining  presence 
of  God,  to  be  approached  only  once  a  year,  on 
the  great  day  of  atonement,  w^ith  costly  sacri- 
fices, only  by  the  High  Priest — while,  with- 
out, priests  and  people,  far  and  near,  pros- 
trated themselves  before  God.  Surely  if  God 
had  desired  to  impress  the  sanctity  of  His 
house,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  appoint- 
ments more  appropriate. 

We  can  hardly  omit  the  lesson  in  Jacob's 
altar-building,  on  account  of  the  power  that 
followed  him  for  its  sake.  Jacob  had  no  en- 
viable character.  He  was  a  representative 
sinner.  He  had  little  of  his  father's  nobility, 
and  much  of  his  mother's  craftiness.  His  nat- 
ural sharpness  was  too  much  for  his  honesty. 
He  was  cold-blooded,  calculating,  unscrupu- 
lous. By  deliberate  purpose  he  over-reached 
his  generous,  impulsive  brother,  taking  advan- 
tage of  his  hunger  to  cheat  him  out  of  his 
birthright.  He  lied  to  his  blind  old  father, 
and  by  fraud  obtained  his  father's  blessing. 
Like  all  tricksters  and  villains,  he  was  a  cow- 
ard, and  fled  from  the  face  of  his  indignant 
brother.  Alone  in  the  wilderness,  with  noth- 
ing but  his  staff;  oppressed  with  the  sense  of 

472 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

guilt  and  exile,  he  lies  down  in  the  deepest 
gloom,  with  a  rock  for  his  pillow.  In  that  ex- 
tremity he  found  Him  who  walketh  even  in 
the  deep  valleys,  and  saw  the  way  of  prayer 
and  hope;  and  from  the  visitation  of  angels 
he  arose,  set  up  a  stone  for  an  altar,  and 
poured  oil  upon  it,  saying:  "How  dreadful 
is  this  place;  surely  God  has  been  here;"  and 
he  called  it  Bethel.  Here  he  made  a  cove- 
nant, in  this  offering,  to  give  the  Lord  one- 
tenth  of  all  his  prosperity.  Years  go  by — God 
hears  his  covenant,  and  blesses  him.  By  and 
by  his  father-in-law  oppresses  him,  and  he  is 
perplexed  beyond  measure,  not  knowing  what 
to  do.  He  is  a  poor  character,  at  best.  A  liar, 
a  swindler,  a  coward,  submitting  to  every  in- 
dignity. But  he  had  an  altar  yonder  at  Bethel, 
and  a  covenant,  and  God  remembered  him, 
and  appeared  unto  him,  saying:  "I  am  the 
God  of  Bethel,  where  thou  anointedst  the  pil- 
lar, and  where  thou  vowdest  a  vow  unto  Me." 
God  remembered  this  altar-building.  This 
representative  sinner,  having  many  vices  and 
few  virtues,  is,  on  account  of  his  altar  and 
vow,  remembered  and  delivered  in  the  time  of 
trouble.  Let  us  not  push  this  example  too  far. 
But  this  we  may  know,  that  sinners,  however 
great  their  sins  or  bad  their  character,  or  des- 

473 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

perate  their  circumstances,  who  still  have 
faith  enough  in  God  to  erect  an  altar  and  vow 
a  generous  service  unto  God,  are  within 
mercy's  easy  reach.  The  records  of  the 
Church  are  full  of  instances  where  the  way 
into  divine  favor  has  commenced,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  centurion  in  the  gospel,  who 
wanted  divine  help,  and  of  whom  it  was  said, 
"He  is  worthy,  for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and 
he  hath  built  us  a  synagogue" — through  the 
building  of  a  church.  I  know  that  salvation 
is  not  all  of  works,  nor  yet  is  it  all  of  faith. 
Faith  without  works  is  dead,  and  I  have  no 
more  confidence  in  dead  faith  than  I  have  in 
dead  men.  This  Board,  like  every  enterprise 
of  the  Church,  must  find  living  faith,  work- 
ing faith,  and  living  men;  then  success  is  only 
a  question  of  time. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  power  in  this 
church-building.  It  is  aggressive,  and  aggres- 
sion is  the  condition  of  life.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  very  presence  of  the  church  that 
rallies  its  friends.  Constantine  conquered  by, 
the  Cross;  Christianity  is  to-day  conquering 
by  the  Church,  as  of  old.  Once,  when  Israel 
faltered  before  the  Philistines,  Eli  sent  forth 
the  ark  of  the  Lord.  But  Israel  was  routed, 
the  sons  of  Eli  were  slain,  and  the  ark  was  cap- 

474 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

tured  by  the  Philistines — and  all  Israel  wept 
and  mourned.  True,  when  Israel  undertook  to 
make  the  ark  fight  for  them,  instead  of  being 
ready  to  die  for  it,  they  were  disappointed, 
and  their  enemies  seemed  to  conquer.  But  the 
Philistines  had  captured  their  own  destruc- 
tion. They  could  do  nothing  with  the  ark. 
They  put  it  in  the  temple  of  Dagon;  but  the 
false  gods  could  not  stand  before  it.  They 
were  dashed  to  pieces.  Alarmed  at  this 
strange  power,  they  sent  the  ark  from  city  to 
city,  only  to  find  that  it  smote  them  every- 
where with  plague.  Amazed  and  terrified, 
they  could  find  no  place  where  it  could  be 
kept.  There  was  no  safety  for  them  with  this 
ark  of  God,  this  dwelling-place  of  the  Al- 
mighty in  their  land.  Heathenism  can  never 
stand  against  the  house  of  God.  Even  the 
gates  of  hell  are  powerless  in  this  conflict. 
The  Philistines  in  solemn  council  determined 
to  send  the  ark  back  to  Israel.  So  helpless 
were  they  that  they  were  glad  to  send  with  it 
costly  gifts  and  offerings.  They  would  give 
anything  or  everything  to  be  rid  of  it.  They 
made  a  new  cart  and  yoked  up  two  cows, 
and  sent  it  away  wherever  the  cattle  might 
take  it.  In  God's  good  order  it  was  drawn 
back  to    Israel.     Then   wherever   it   tarried, 

475 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS' 

there  the  people  were  blessed  and  prospered, 
till  the  king  saw  that  it  was  the  center  of 
power,  and  took  it  on  behalf  of  the  nation. 

So  it  must  be  in  our  day.  Wherever  we 
plant  our  churches  we  are  destined  to  tri- 
umph. Possibly  in  the  heat  of  party  strife 
or  amid  the  confusion  of  intestine  war,  some 
may  siege  our  sanctuaries  and  seem  for  a  sea- 
son to  conquer  us  by  our  own  weapons.  But 
God's  house  will  prove  fatal  to  them;  all 
party  gods  must  fall  before  it,  and  wiser  coun- 
sels will  constrain  them  to  return  the  instru- 
ments they  can  not  use.  Say  to  the  whole 
Church,  go  on  with  this  church  building. 
It  is  a  safe  investment.  It  insures  victory. 
Even  if  our  edifices  will  be  captured,  they 
will  be  returned  laden  with  treasures  and 
peace  offerings.  If  we  do  not  see  it  under  the 
sun,  we  shall  see  it  to-morrow  in  the  light  of 
the  excellent  glory. 

This  wondrous  Book  of  God  is  full  of  dis- 
plays of  power  centered  in  His  altar.  Go  yon- 
der to  Carmel's  summit,  and  gaze  on  the  gath- 
ering hosts  of  Israel.  It  is  a  high  day.  God's 
prophet  has  met  the  apostate  king,  and  has 
challenged  him  to  a  contest  of  altars.  It  is 
not  an  argument  of  the  theologians.  It  is  not 
a  trial  of  the  logic  of  the  philosophers.     It  is 

476 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

not  a  tilt  of  warriors.  It  is  higher  and  grander 
than  any  or  all  of  these.  It  is  a  trial  of  altars. 
God's  altar  is  to  be  tested  by  the  side  of  Baal's 
altar.  Baal's  altar  is  served  by  hundreds  of 
well-trained  priests,  and  is  encouraged  by 
royal  favor.  God's  altar  is  served  by  one 
solitary  prophet,  and  he  not  accustomed  to 
serve  in  the  presence  of  kings.  Elijah,  the 
stern  old  prophet  of  the  mountains,  clad  in 
the  garb  of  the  desert,  with  a  sheepskin  cloak 
wrapped  around  his  shoulders,  and  with  his 
black  and  waving  locks  streaming  down  his 
back,  a  stranger  to  the  comforts  and  courtesies 
of  civilized  life,  familiar  with  nature  in  her 
grandest  moods;  Elijah,  the  stern  embodiment 
of  justice,  who  could  stand  undismayed  amid 
the  displays  of  divine  wrath,  with  his  foot 
on  the  heaving  bosom  of  the  earthquake,  and 
his  eye  on  the  whirlwinds  of  fire  that  were 
howling  about  him — this  man  came  forth 
alone  against  all  the  hosts  of  Baal  to  a  contest 
of  altars,  and  the  answering  fire  from  heaven 
declared  the  power  of  God's  altar.  The  bat- 
tle of  the  "world  is  a  conflict  of  altars.  When 
our  altars  are  kindled  from  above,  they  are 
as  strong  as  the  Almighty. 


477 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 


Delivered  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  annual  meeting 
of    the    Church    Extension    Society. 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION 

Mr.  Chairman:  We  can  not  but  ask  why 
we  are  here?  What  is  the  object  of  this  or- 
ganization? What  is  the  reason  of  this  So- 
ciety? These  are  questions  that  the  Church 
has  a  right  to  ask  and  to  expect  satisfactorily 
answered.  Indeed,  I  will  concede  that  no 
society  has  a  right  to  tax  the  public  sympa- 
thies, burden  the  public  mind,  and  exhaust  the 
public  pocket,  that  can  not  make  satisfactory 
answers  at  the  bar  of  the  public  judgment. 

This  present  time  is  bracketed  by  two 
words — ^'science"  and  ^'organization."  Ev- 
erything must  bear  the  shadow  of  both  of  these 
terms.  I  sometimes  almost  fear  that  these  are 
the  devil's  crutches,  on  which  he  hobbles  into 
the  public  sympathy  and  confidence.  Every 
movement  must  be  chartered  and  funded.  It 
has  come  to  such  a  pass  that  a  man  can  not 
raise  a  fast  colt  or  a  fat  calf  without  a  presi- 
dent, secretary,  and  an  executive  committee; 
and  a  woman  can  not  patch  a  ragged  garment, 
or  punish  a  bad  boy  without  a  constitution 
and  by-laws,  and  the  consent  of  the  majority. 

31  481 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Ought  it  not  to  be  an  indictable  offense  to  press 
the  claims  of  any  society  that  could  be  dis- 
pensed with,  without  substantial  loss?  Even 
under  this  strict  rule  we  have  full  access  to 
your  attention.  For  we  come,  as  you  are  al- 
ready persuaded,  with  almost  imperative 
claims.  I  will  base  my  plea  for  your  co-opera- 
tion on 

The  Christly  Character  of  This  Society. 

It  needs,  and  must  have,  divine  sanction 
and  authority.  Its  claims  must  have  the  foun- 
dation of  eternal  truth.  Its  voice  must  pene- 
trate with  the  accents  of  divine  necessity.  Its 
first  affirmation  is, 

I.  The  Church  Extension  Society  is  provi- 
dential in  its  birth.  It  was  born  in  the  full- 
ness of  time.  It  has  been  said  by  our  press  that 
it  came  one  decade  too  late.  Even  if  that  were 
so,  it  would  not  be  outside  of  providential  uses. 
The  great  apostle,  whose  work  was  only  sec- 
ond to  that  of  the  Master  Himself,  was  born 
out  of  due  time;  but  he  was  nevertheless  born 
into  a  mighty  work.  So  this  Society,  even 
though  it  missed  its  right  decade,  was  yet  born 
into  a  mighty  work.  But  I  am  not  persuaded 
that  it  did  miss  its  proper  advent.     In  the  di- 

489 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

vine  economy  some  things  are  incapable  of 
being  stored.     Faith  can  not  accumulate. 

Spiritual  power  is  not  reservable.  The 
man  with  the  withered  arm  had  no  spare 
power.  He  used  his  mustard-seed  of  faith, 
and,  in  the  necessities  of  time,  it  was  made 
omnipotent.  This  Society  could  not  have  win- 
tered and  summered  in  the  dry-dock.  One 
year  would  have  made  it  unseaworthy.  True, 
other  Churches  were  in  the  field  before  us. 
The  Congregational  Union  was  launched  in 
1852.  The  church  edifice  department  of  the 
Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1854.  The 
Presbyterian  Church  erected  this  work  into  a 
distinct  department  in  1864.  ^^^  ^hey  had 
been  long  in  the  field,  in  the  Home  Mission 
work.  We  followed  in  the  same  year  with 
our  systematic,  recognized  labor  in  this  field. 
But  we  had  all  the  conditions  of  immediate, 
available  power  in  advance  of  our  Society. 
We  are  a  unit.  Any  new  movement  can  go 
from  the  brain  of  the  Bishops,  if  it  happens  to 
be  born  there,  into  the  heart  of  the  last  mem- 
ber of  our  Church  in  a  single  moon.  We  need 
only  opportunity — we  have  organizations. 
The  decade  by  which  the  other  Churches  had 
the  advance,  was  their  need  to  organize  and 
get  into  line.    The  child  was  born  into  a  well- 

483 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

regulated  family,  and  had  no  bad  habits  to 
unlearn.  True,  it  had  a  giant's  work  to  do 
as  soon  as  it  was  christened;  but  it  was  born 
a  giant,  with  a  giant's  strength.  It  was  not 
like  a  young  kangaroo  or  an  opossum,  needing 
to  be  pouched  for  months  to  be  protected,  it 
was  born  with  double  teeth  all  around. 

See  the  conspiring  events  in  the  order  of 
providence  that  made  room  and  work  for  this 
Society.  The  great  "war  opened  vast  empires 
where  Churches  must  be  planted.  The 
school-house  must  crowd  out  the  whipping- 
post. The  Church  must  succeed  the  auction- 
block  and  the  gang-pen.  The  war  was  the 
great  event  in  the  department  of  government. 
Then,  in  the  department  of  science,  came  the 
great  railroad  movement  of  all  times,  pushing 
forth  into  the  wilderness  by  the  thousand 
miles,  and  planting  cities  by  the  hundred. 
Before  this,  civilization  had  gone  forward  in 
the  ox-cart,  and  the  border  men  of  the  more 
compact  front  were  in  condition  to  supply 
their  own  demands  about  as  well  as  the 
churches  behind  them.  Now,  civilization 
goes  forward  by  rail. 

The  repulsions  of  possible  slavery  and  of 
an  unsettled  political  state  being  removed,  and 
the  attractions  of  thousands  of  leagues  of  free 

484 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

and  available  soil,  brought  into  the  world's 
market,  being  put  into  their  places,  the  tide 
of  emigration  pours  out  into  the  opening  in- 
finite West,  beyond  all  precedent  or  dream. 

I  spent  part  of  a  night  last  spring  in  a 
town  well  up  towards  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  a 
town  of  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  where 
there  had  not  been  a  sermon  preached  in  more 
than  five  years.  These  towns  were  planted 
by  the  old  miners;  now  they  and  all  the  mil- 
lions of  square  miles  are  cast  down  at  our  feet. 
Then  in  the  department  of  religion  came  the 
blessed  centenary  year.  The  Church  in  the 
first  century  was  but  little  more  than  a 
Church  Extension  Society  itself.  It  was  mak- 
ing its  way  out  of  the  barns  and  kitchens  into 
the  school-houses,  out  of  the  school-houses  into 
the  meeting-houses,  and  then  into  churches, 
and  then  into  cathedrals.  The  centenary  year 
made  us  open  our  eyes  and  see  that  we  were 
no  longer  on  the  town — no  longer  living  from 
hand  to  mouth.  We  learned  that  we  had 
some  money,  some  disposition,  and  we  looked 
for  some  opportunities.  These  providential 
facts  called  forth  this  Society  in  the  nick  of 
time.  Scripture  tells  us  that  a  star  led  the 
wise  men  to  the  infant  Christ.  Kepler,  the 
astronomer,   tells  us   that  the  conjunction   of 

485 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  the  constellation  Pisces, 
produced  that  guiding  star.  So  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  conjunction  of  the  great  war,  open- 
ing the  South  to  the  Church;  and  of  the  great 
railroad  opening  the  West  to  emigration;  and 
of  the  great  centenary  year,  opening  the 
pocket-book  of  the  Church  of  God — this  con- 
junction in  our  firmament  has  guided  the  wise 
men  of  the  East  and  of  the  West  to  the  manger 
where  this  Society  was  born. 

//  comes  in  the  order  of  Providence,  like 
all  the  distinctive  features  of  our  Church.  It 
is  a  branch  on  the  old  vine.  We  had  first 
the  conditions  for  a  work;  and  then  the  work 
has  naturally  fitted  into  the  place.  It  is  in 
its  anticipations,  a  growth.  You  know  the 
Church  was  not  a  plan  or  plot;  it  was  a  fact. 
After  awhile  it  was  a  recognized  fact,  and 
that  christened  it  a  Church.  Mr.  Wesley  went 
about  preaching  salvation,  a  knowable  salva- 
tion, and  organizing  seekers  and  sending  out 
teachers.  That  was  his  work.  He  never  left 
the  old  Church,  and  hardly  knew  that  he  had 
founded  a  new  spiritual  empire.  Class-meet- 
ings, in  the  same  way,  grew  to  their  place. 
The  system  of  government  also  grew  from 
consultations  to  its  present  exact,  efficient  or- 
ganizations.    The  itinerancy,   the  banner  of 

486 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

our  polity,  was  no  far-sighted  purpose.  It 
grew  out  of  events.  The  Church  has  always 
had  the  advantage  of  being  suited  to  its  place 
because  it  has  run  into  the  providential  mold. 
It  has  the  advantage  of  practice  over  mere 
theory.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  one  of  the 
greatest  English  politicians  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  Locke,  the  most  celebrated  phi- 
losopher of  his  age,  invented  a  government  for 
Carolina.  It  was  perfectly  modeled,  from 
the  laborer  to  the  earl,  and  in  the  charter  it 
seemed  to  organize  victory  in  advance.  But, 
dropped  upon  the  soil  of  the  New  World,  it 
was  fractured  into  countless  fragments.  The 
laborers  took  to  the  woods.  The  officers  were 
not  needed.  The  high  dignitaries  came  down 
to  the  hard  scrabble  of  a  new  country  for 
bread.  To  this  soil  came  a  common-sense 
man,  with  no  protection  but  his  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  and  no  government  but  such  as 
he  could  dig  out  of  the  ground.  The  theory  of 
the  statesman  and  of  the  philosopher  perished 
in  the  very  decade  of  its  birth,  leaving  neither 
child  nor  monument  to  mark  its  grave.  But 
this  government  of  William  Penn,  in  sub- 
stance, abides  to-day.  It  was  not  a  plot,  but  a 
growth  in  events.  That  is  precisely  the  char- 
acter of  the  Church  Extension  Society.     It  is 

487 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

a  growth  in  events.  It  is  thus  a  radical  part 
of  our  Church.  It  came  just  as  soon  as  there 
was  room  for  it.  First  the  Missionary  Society, 
planting  the  truth,  then  the  other  societies 
that  grow  out  of  the  truth,  then  this  Church 
Extension  Society,  with  tools,  constructing  its 
temples  for  the  permanent  lodgment  of  the 
truth.  It  can  not  be  inappropriate  to  have  a 
society  with  its  builders  and  carpenters  walk- 
ing in  the  train  of  yonder  carpenter's  Son. 
This  comes  as  soon  as  it  has  room,  and  so  in 
the  order  of  Providence. 

2.  This  Society  is  Christlike  in  its  foun- 
dation principles,  by  which  the  Church  is 
looked  upon  as  a  family  with  a  common  in- 
terest, supplying  the  wants  of  the  needy  by 
the  abundance  of  the  fortunate.  While  this 
law  is  put  at  its  best  in  Christianity,  it  still 
is  a  law  of  wide  application.  Even  in  the 
order  of  nature,  supply  is  forever  flowing  into 
the  bosom  of  demand.  Thus,  an  eye  argues 
a  sun;  lungs  pre-suppose  air;  a  hungry  man 
means  food  somewhere. 

Then,  in  this  body,  this  universe  which  we 
control,  how  this  law  holds  true!  Let  one 
sense  give  out,  and  immediately  the  other 
senses  come  up  to  its  support  and  do  its  work, 
and  make  up  what  is  behind.    Your  eyes  grow 

488 


ADDRESS  OxN  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

dim,  then  your  ears  double  their  skill.  See 
how  subtly  this  law  works  among  the  vital 
organs.  One  organ  is  afflicted;  immediately 
the  whole  system  is  in  profoundest  sympathy 
with  the  afflicted  one.  If  one  of  your  fingers 
is  disabled,  all  the  others  seem  to  act  for  its 
defense  and  protection.  They  do  not  pick  at  it 
and  pull  it  about,  and  aggravate  its  inflamma- 
tion. They  become  its  defenders.  These  are 
the  rude  shadows  of  the  deeper  spiritual  law 
that  underlies  the  Church  of  Christ.  Here, 
it  is  one  all-dominating  principle.  Self  is  sac- 
rificed for  others.  Christ  comes  out  for  us, 
seeking  that  which  was  lost.  He  comes  from 
the  purity  of  heaven  to  wade  through  the 
sewer  of  our  abominations,  that  He  may  help 
us  up  to  purity.  He  leaves  the  glory  of  the 
eternal  court  for  a  manger  in  a  Jewish  stable, 
that  we  may  be  elevated  above  the  beastly  to 
the  spiritual.  He  turns  away  from  the  rap- 
turous songs  of  the  seraphs  to  be  greeted  by  the 
yells  of  the  hooting  mob,  that  we  may  be  de- 
livered from  the  discords  of  hell,  and  learn 
the  melodies  of  heaven.  He  exchanges  the 
scepter  that  waves  over  all  intelligence,  for 
the  spikes  of  a  felon's  cross,  that  we  may  be 
freed  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  be  set  at 
liberty  in  the  truth.     He  laid  aside  the  glory 

489 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the 
worlds  were  made,  and  took  upon  Himself 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  became  obedient 
unto  death,  that  by  His  dying  we  might  have 
life.  He  was  rich — rich  in  mines,  the  original 
mines  out  of  which  the  Ophirs,  and  the 
Australias,  and  the  Californias  were  made; 
rich  in  navies — navies  whose  ships  are  suns 
and  stars,  sailing  the  infinite  seas;  rich  in  em- 
pires— empires  whose  dominions  are  whole 
realms  of  nature.  ''He  was  rich,  yet  for  our 
sakes  He  became  poor,  that  we  through  His 
poverty  might  be  rich." 

This  Society  comes  in  this  same  spirit, 
founded  upon  the  same  law,  working  out  the 
same  conceptions.  The  Church  is  a  family. 
As  the  members  multiply  and  colonize,  they 
must  have  shelter  and  help ;  they  must  be  put 
on  their  feet  and  allowed  a  fair  chance.  This 
does  not  mean  that  when  a  man  is  down  we 
must  go  and  trample  him,  as  the  thieves  along 
the  road  to  Jericho  did  their  victim,  nor  must 
we  walk  by  on  the  other  side,  as  the  priest  did ; 
nor  must  we  simply  look  on  him  like  the 
Levite;  but  the  good  Samaritan  must  be  our 
model.  Our  wine  must  be  given  to  his  thirst, 
our  oil  must  be  poured  into  his  wounds,  our 
beast    must    carry    his    helpless    form,    even 

490 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

though  we  have  to  walk  and  lead  the  beast; 
our  money  must  pay  his  charges,  even  though 
it  takes  the  last  penny;  and  our  credit  must 
secure  his  future  comfort.  This  is  the  spirit 
of  this  Society.  It  is  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
itself.  It  is  the  well  man  carrying  the  sick. 
It  is  the  man  with  the  eyes  leading  the  blind. 
It  is  the  brave  man  encouraging  the  timid.  It 
is  the  wise  man  teaching  the  ignorant.  It  is 
the  rich  man  feeding  the  poor.  It  is  the 
strong  man  helping  the  weak.  This  is  the 
foundation  on  which  this  Society  acts.  Hav- 
ing the  spirit  of  Christ,  the  Church  is  sure  to 
do  this  work  as  soon  as  it  comes  to  it.  When 
a  man  is  full  of  a  truth  he  breaks  out  first  at 
the  thinnest  place.  He  feels,  then  he  talks, 
afterwards  he  acts.  First,  a  prayer,  then  a 
missionary,  then  material  aid.  This  Society  is 
Christly  in  its  great  principle. 

3.  This  Society  is  Christlike  in  its  un- 
selfish beneficence.  It  not  only  cares  for 
the  needy  and  helps  the  weak,  but  it  does 
it  without  reference  to  the  interests  of 
the  fortunate  and  strong.  It  is  not  a  new 
thing  for  the  powerful  to  help  the  weak. 
This  is  an  experience  as  old  as  society. 
This  is  the  exact  sphere  of  human  govern- 
ment.    Men  combine   and   thus  concentrate 

491 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

power  for  self-defense,  for  self-aggrandize- 
ment, or  for  some  selfish  end.  The  old  patri- 
cians and  powerful  families  of  ancient  Rome 
spread  their  strong  arm  out  over  the  plebeians 
that  gathered  about  them.  They  were  as 
ready  to  work  for  their  retainers  as  for  their 
kindred.  But  this  protection  from  the  rapac- 
ity of  the  avaricious  and  the  outrages  of  the 
lawless  was  repaid  by  veneration  in  society, 
service  in  labor,  honor  in  legislation,  and  loy- 
alty in  war.  The  feudal  lords  of  the  Middle 
Ages  acted  upon  this  same  principle.  The 
castle  on  a  crag  or  in  a  crevice,  with  its  moat 
and  draw-bridges  and  heavy  gates  and  high 
w^alls,  overlooked  the  village  of  the  peasantry, 
and  stood  like  a  protecting  providence  for 
their  defense.  In  time  of  war,  in  hours  of 
peril,  they  fled  over  its  draw-bridges,  through 
its  gate-way,  and  into  its  solid  embrace  for 
safety.  But  their  presence,  their  arms,  their 
blood,  made  it  safe  for  them  and  for  the  lord 
of  the  castle.  The  old  planter  who  maimed 
or  murdered  his  slaves  was  not  only  a  fiend 
but  also  a  fool.  It  was  his  interest  to  protect 
and  provide  for  them.  The  great  problem 
that  agitates  Europe  to-day,  that  makes  the 
British  ministry  tremble,  that  keeps  the  Czar 
writing  notes,  that  arouses  Italy,  that  alarms 

492 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

Austria,  that  amazes  Spain,  is  not  so  much 
whether  William  shall  treat  with  France  from 
the  inside  or  outside  of  Paris,  as  it  is  this  ques- 
tion of  where  the  balance  of  power  will  crys- 
tallize. All  the  powers  cried  out  for  Prussia 
when  France  seemed  to  be  on  top.  It  would 
not  be  safe  in  Europe  with  Napoleon  on  the 
Rhine.  Now  they  cry  out  for  France,  when 
Prussia  seems  to  be  on  top.  It  would  not  be 
safe  in  Europe  with  William  in  Paris. 

Thus  they  are  only  too  willing  to  help  the 
weak.  All  this  is  human.  It  is  too  human. 
But  Christ  helped  us  for  the  sake  of  helping 
us,  because  we  were  in  great  need.  He  had 
everything.  We  had  absolutely  nothing.  He 
came  to  us  because  wc  were  lost.  He  became 
our  friend  because  we  were  sinners.  It  is  in 
the  very  nature  of  His  love  to  come  out  to 
us  because  we  were  suffering.  He  loves  us 
always,  loves  us  good  or  bad,  loves  us  in  our 
sins  or  out  of  them.  He  loves  us  any  way,  tries 
to  love  us  out  of  our  sins  and  out  of  our  suf- 
fering. There  is  no  alloy  of  selfishness  in  His 
love.  It  is  as  pure  as  the  light  and  strong  as 
the  Almighty.  He  stops  at  no  questions  of 
race  or  family  or  position  or  culture.  He  rec- 
ognizes no  human  boundaries,  but  overleaps 
all  arbitrary  standards,  asking  simply.  Where 

493 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

is  there  sorrow  to  be  comforted,  suffering  to 
be  relieved,  want  to  be  supplied,  guilt  to  be 
pardoned,  corruption  to  be  cleansed;  where  is 
there  weakness  to  be  walled  about  by  my 
power?  This  is  the  law  of  Christ.  This  is 
exactly  the  work  to  be  done  by  this  Society. 
Money  comes  into  this  treasury  to  help  the 
nameless  and  unknown  poor.  You  know  only 
that  it  goes  to  help  the  weak  somewhere,  and 
that  is  enough.  Christ  is  in  it.  We  see  it  as 
His  legacy.  These,  crying  in  the  dark  for 
help,  are  His  children,  and  we  accept  the 
charge.  A  stranger  dashed  across  the  street 
in  front  of  a  team  and  snatched  a  child  from 
under  the  very  necks  of  the  horses.  The  driver 
reined  up,  saying:  ^Ts  that  your  child?"  The 
gentleman,  letting  the  child  bound  away  in 
the  joy  of  rescued  life,  said:  ^'No,  sir,  but  it 
is  somebody's." 

This  Society,  in  the  spirit  of  its  concep- 
tions, in  the  purpose  of  the  men  who  ordained 
it,  in  the  thought  of  that  Supreme  Power 
above  all  Boards,  and  free  from  all  local 
prejudice — the  High  Council,  the  Parliament 
of  the  Church;  this  Society  in  that  supreme 
judgment,  made  its  election  between  that  hack- 
driver  and  that  heroic  gentleman,  and  it  can 
never,  never,  NEVER,  be  reversed.    No  admin- 

494 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

istration  that  fails  to  apprehend  this  good  law 
of  unselfish  beneficence  can  abide.  The 
Church  will  look  to  it,  and  God  will  look  to 
it.  So  I  affirm  boldly  that  the  principle  under 
this  Society  is  unselfish  beneficence.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  a  Christian  man  to  expend  his 
money  upon  himself  in  order  to  stimulate  his 
own  industry. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  put  one-half  of  our 
own  benevolent  contributions  into  our  own 
pocket,  in  order  to  hire  ourselves  to  give  the 
Lord  His  dues.  Such  estimates  underrate  the 
intelligence  of  the  Church.  The  true  spirit 
of  this  Society  is  told  in  the  collection  taken  in 
this  Church  yesterday  morning.  I  think  I 
never  rejoiced  more  over  any  announcement 
than  that.  I  can  go  back  to  my  brethren  over 
the  mountains  and  tell  them  that  Arch  Street 
Church,  in  the  midst  of  its  dedication,  stopped 
and  gave  a  large  collection  to  this  Society. 
Though  meeting  great  home  obligations,  they 
were  ready  to  heed  the  cry  from  the  needy,  and 
send  away  their  money  to  the  destitute.  I  can 
tell  them  that  our  general  Church  interests 
are  safe,  and  this  Society  will  revive  the  spirit 
of  unselfish  beneficence.  If  I  mistake  not, 
more  strength  will  come  to  the  cause  of  God 
from  this  example  than  from  any  other  single 

495 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

act  in  our  history  as  a  Church.  If  I  were  a 
member  of  this  Church,  I  had  rather  be  the 
author  of  this  collection  than  of  this  church 
building  itself.  Like  the  woman  in  the  New 
Testament  with  the  alabaster  box,  you  have  a 
memorial,  and  wherever  this  Society  goes 
with  its  blessings,  this  shall  be  spoken  of  you, 
and  the  fragrance  of  your  ointment  shall  be 
mingled  with  the  fragrance  of  the  gospel  long 
after  you  are  gone.  God  grant  that  you  may 
go  late  home  to  the  angels. 

I  wish  you  could  go  through  the  South 
and  West.  I  wish  you  could  look  upon  those 
regions  where  millions  are  unable  to  have  any 
service  in  the  cold  months  for  want  of  build- 
ings. Give  them  money  enough  to  buy  the 
glass,  and  cheap  hinges,  and  a  few  nails, 
and  they  will  hew  out  logs,  and  put  up 
churches  by  the  hundred.  The  loyal  men  of 
the  South,  and  the  men  from  the  North,  and 
the  colored  men,  are  shut  out  from  the  shabby 
churches  of  the  Church  South.  There  is  no 
hope  for  that  country  but  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Rev.  Moses  Sullivan,  a 
white  member  of  the  Alabama  Conference, 
was  beaten  with  hickory  whips  by  disguised 
Ku  Klux.  His  skull  was  fractured  by  a  blow 
upon  the  head  with  the  butt  of  the  hickory. 

496. 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

Strokes  across  his  breast  were  so  severe  as  to 
cause  injury  from  which  he  will  never  recover. 
His  persecutors  demanded  that  he  should 
leave  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
join  the  Church  South,  threatening  to  murder 
him  unless  he  should  do  so.  This  is  the  usual 
demand  made  by  the  Ku  Klux  when  they 
attack  our  preachers,  white  or  colored.  Sen- 
ator Aikins,  of  Georgia,  a  white  member  of 
First  Church,  Atlanta,  was  assassinated  for  his 
loyalty  to  the  Government.  Rev.  A.  S.  Lakin, 
Presiding  Elder  of  Huntsville  District,  Ala- 
bama, has  been  threatened,  followed  re- 
peatedly, his  house  surrounded  by  Ku  Klux 
in  disguise,  and  shots  fired  through  his  rooms. 

Rev.  James  McHenry  (colored),  a  minis- 
ter of  Georgia  Conference,  was  driven  from 
his  circuit  last  summer,  and  his  home  broken 
up  by  robbers.  Rev.  C.  C.  Johnson  (colored) , 
of  Georgia  Conference,  was  shot  at  in  broad 
day,  when  returning  from  his  appointment  in 
the  country,  and  again  while  sitting  by  his 
fireside.  Hon.  Malcolm  Claibourn  (colored), 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Georgia,  an  influential  and  valuable  member 
of  our  Church,  was  shot  dead  on  the  steps  of 
the  capitol.  Uncle  Peter  (colored),  an  ex- 
horter,  was  shot,  and  his  throat  cut,  and  his 

32  497 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

body  thrown  into  a  ditch  in  Grantville, 
Georgia,  because  he  was  loyal  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  a  Northern  Methodist.  Rev.  Mr. 
Varnel,  received  on  probation  in  the  Alabama 
Conference  at  its  late  session,  was  shot  dead 
by  the  Ku  Ulux.  His  body  was  pierced  by 
forty  balls.  His  son  was  also  murdered.  Mr. 
Randolph,  one  of  the  most  promising  colored 
men  in  the  South,  was  shot  dead  while  stand- 
ing on  the  platform  of  the  cars.  The  false- 
hoods told,  wrongs  and  persecutions  inflicted 
on  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
South  can  not  be  told.  Our  people  and  pastors 
there  have  the  heroism  of  the  martyrs. 

One-half  of  all  the  churches  (including 
town  and  city)  in  the  Gulf  States,  have  neither 
windows  nor  fires.  There  are  about  five  hun- 
dred churches  of  all  denominations  within  the 
Dalton  District,  Georgia  Conference.  The 
value  of  these  houses  does  not  average  much 
over  twenty-five  dollars  each.  Many  of  these 
are  mere  log  huts  without  windows  or  fires. 
In  the  Gulf  States  but  few  religious  services 
are  held  in  the  winter  outside  of  the  towns. 
Morgantown,  Buchanan,  Guntersville,  and 
other  villages  which  are  county  seats,  have  not, 
and  never  had,  any  church  of  any  sort  or  de- 
nomination. 

498 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

The  Church  South  intends  to  drive  us  out, 
but  we  can  not  leave  there  any  more  than  we 
can  leave  India.  The  Church  South  is  to-day 
not  so  strong  in  its  members  by  two-fifths  as  in 
1844,  nor  in  moral  strength  by  three-fifths, 
nor  in  money  by  four-fifths.  The  calm  laymen 
of  that  Church  say  we  are  their  only  hope  and 
must  abide.  We  have  settled  in  that  country, 
and  intend  to  move  from  there  to  heaven — 
when  w^e  move  at  all.  Methodism  was  never 
known  to  let  go  when  she  once  had  hold.  Our 
brethren  risk  their  lives,  and  we  must  give 
them  forts  with  which  to  hold  the  country  for 
Christ. 

Go  into  the  great  West;  yesterday  a  prai- 
rie, to-day  a  locomotive  pushes  by.  The  snort 
of  the  steed  starts  a  city  out  of  the  ground. 
To-morrow  there  must  be  a  church.  The 
first  people  will  control  the  community;  we 
must  come  to  their  aid  if  we  would  hold  the 
country  for  Christ.  This  certainly  is  His 
cause,  to  go  in  His  spirit  to  these  His  pur- 
chased ones. 

Standing  by  His  Cross,  raised  for  us,  we 
can  not  do  other  than  help  His  children.  I 
read  somewhere  of  two  miners  in  a  bucket 
being  hoisted  out  of  the  shaft.  They  had  come 
up  several  hundred  feet,  when  they  heard  a 

499 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

sharp  twang  and  felt  a  little  jar  on  the  bucket. 
By  a  sort  of  horrible  instinct  they  looked  at 
the  rope;  one  strand  had  broken,  the  others 
were  unwinding.  Both  could  not  be  carried 
up;  one  might.  Which  should  die?  That 
was  the  terrible  question.  Only  a  moment  for 
choice.  One  of  the  miners  was  a  Christian, 
the  other  was  not.  The  Christian  said:  'T  am 
ready  to  die,  you  are  not;  John,  do  n't  let  my 
children  suffer,"  and  sprang  out  of  the  bucket. 
The  other  was  carried  safely  out.  Think  you 
he  could  ever  see  those  orphans  go  hungry 
while  he  had  a  morsel?  Christ,  dying,  says: 
''Do  n't  let  My  children  suffer."  Can  we  gaze 
on  the  Cross  and  fail  to  do  His  work?  The 
work  of  this  Society  is  backed  by  this  obliga- 
tion and  is  Christlike  in  its  unselfish  benefi- 
cence. 

4.  There  is  another  argument  for  this  So- 
ciety in  its  Results.  He  that  giveth  the  in- 
crease must  be  with  it.  It  is  only  the  good 
ground  that  yields  thirty  or  sixty  or  a  hundred- 
fold. There  has  been  some  feeling  in  some 
sections  that  this  Society  was  not  doing  much; 
but  such  feeling  must  depend  upon  the  views 
of  the  demand  rather  than  of  the  actual  work. 
Too  much  has  been  expected  and  too  little  has 
been  done.    But  I  would  ask,  would  there  not 

500 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

have  been  much  greater  disappointment  from 
the  old  way  of  irresponsible  begging?  Com- 
pare our  figures  with  the  other  societies.  This 
Society  was  organized  in  1864,  in  1869  raised 
by  collection  about  $60,000  and  for  the  Loan 
Fund  about  $114,000  on  subscription;  aided 
seventy-nine  Churches  in  about  twenty-six 
States  and  Territories,  and  in  1870  over 
$100,000  aided  one  hundred  and  seventy 
Churches  in  thirty-six  different  States  and 
Territories,  extending  from  Maine  to  Califor- 
nia, from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf. 

The  Baptist  Union,  with  a  membership  of 
one  million  two  hundred  and  twenty- two  thou- 
sand, raised  in  the  first  thirteen  years  only 
$30,000.  In  1869  they  raised  over  $100,000, 
aided  fifty  Churches  in  seventeen  States.  The 
Congregational  Union,  organized  in  1852, 
raised,  in  1869,  $50,000.  The  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  both  branches,  raised,  in  1869, 
$73,000;  aided  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
Churches.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  great 
reason  to  rejoice  at  the  rapid  strides  we  have 
made,  and  take  new  courage  for  the  future. 

The  returns  that  come  in  from  the  invest- 
ments are  marvelous.  When  $50  will  secure  a 
church  to  accommodate  three  hundred  persons 
and  give  a  home  to  a  believing  society,  there 

501 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

can  remain  no  doubt  of  this  readiness  of  the 
harvest.  Reports  from  seven  charges  show 
that  the  investment  given  by  donation  and  loan, 
$1,417.67,  secures  $11,430  worth  of  church 
property,  makes  seatings  for  two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  forty,  and  homes  for  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  members,  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  probationers,  hav- 
ing one  hundred  and  twenty-two  conversions 
and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  additions  to 
the  Churches  in  a  year.  Surely  this  must  be 
good  soil.  If  you  want  to  do  good  with  your 
money,  here  is  your  chance.  It  could  not 
but  bear  vast  increase.  A  church  is  a  home, 
and  so  must  win  the  homeless.  It  is  a  fort; 
the  party  within  must  hold  the  country.  Raids 
may  agitate  and  alarm  a  people,  but  nothing 
less  than  well-planted  forts  can  subjugate  a 
land;  and  our  mission  is  to  hold  the  country 
for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

5.  This  Society  is  Christlike  in  the  laws 
of  its  beneficence.  It  gives  on  principle.  It 
does  not  see  the  individual  hand  that  is  ex- 
tended for  aid;  it  only  knows  that  aid  is 
needed.  It  does  not  dole  out  its  gifts  to  the 
pressing  solicitor  simply  to  get  rid  of  him, 
doubting  a  little  his  genuineness,  and  doubt- 
ing more  whether  he  can  raise  enough  to  pay 

502 


ADDRESS  ON  CHURCH   EXTENSION 

his  expenses.  It  takes  the  fact  of  need  and 
pays  its  money  into  the  hands  of  men  whose 
business  is  to  know  the  necessities  of  each  case 
and  see  to  it  that  the  money  has  safe  transit 
to  its  destiny.  The  great  need  of  the  Church 
is  the  universal  application  of  this  law  of  giv- 
ing on  principle.  Could  all  Christian  men 
come  up  to  this  elevated  and  simple  standard, 
and  the  Lord's  treasury  receive  its  just  dues,  to 
use  the  peculiar  and  ultimate  argument  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,"  this  generation  should  not  pass  away  till 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  would  be  fully  come. 
We  have  too  little  systematic  and  intelligent 
giving.  We  look  at  the  zeal  of  the  beggar 
and  then  at  the  liberality  of  our  brothers.  We 
strike  a  sort  of  balance  between  these,  and  then 
extract  the  cube  root  to  see  how  little  we  can 
give  and  get  any  sleep.  This  Society  goes  all 
over  the  land,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  from  the 
lakes  to  the  gulf,  and  hunts  out  the  needs  of 
all  the  people.  It  finds  out  how  much  is  ab- 
solutely indispensable  to  the  work.  Then  it 
goes  over  all  the  income  reports  of  the  saints 
to  see  how  much  we  can  give.  Then,  prayer- 
fully, and  by  its  best  judgment,  it  divides  up 
this  need  for  this  ability,  and  tremblingly  in 
God's  name  asks  us  to  give  it.     Now,  it  does 

503 


Addresses  on  notable  occasions 

seem  to  me  that  this  is  Christ-like  in  its  law. 
He  always  asks  how  much  He  can  do  for  us; 
this  ought  to  be  our  inquiry.  You  walk  out  on 
a  beautiful  afternoon  with  your  little  brother; 
now  he  has  your  hand,  next  he  is  running 
alone,  and  so  you  go  on  together,  you  two, 
cradled  on  one  knee,  having  the  same  blood. 
By  some  mischance  he  is  knocked  down  and 
a  loaded  cart  stops  on  him.  There  he  is  under 
the  wheel,  sinking  into  the  mud;  you  look  into 
his  face;  that  is  enough;  the  blackened  skin 
and  starting  eyes  and  contorted  features  tell 
the  story.  That  cart-wheel  must  be  lifted. 
Do  you  say  to  the  by-standers,  'T  will  lift  my 
share?"  Do  you  calculate  how  little  you  can 
lift,  and  have  the  others  lift  the  rest?  No,  you 
spring  the  wheel,  crying:  "Come  here!  here! 
help !  quick !  quick !"  You  seize  the  wheel  and 
straighten  every  muscle  and  cord,  and  by  the 
inspiration  of  your  anguish  the  wheel  goes  up. 
Our  brothers  are  being  crushed.  We  have 
only  to  ask,  "How  much  can  we  lift?"  This 
is  God's  law. 


504 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

SEEN  FROM  THE  STANDPOINT  OF  A  LAYMAN 


Delivered  at  the  Commencement  of  the  Medical  College 
of  San  Francisco  in  1891. 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

SEEN  FROM  THE  STANDPOINT  OF  A  LAYMAN 

A  FEW  months  ago  we  and  our  fellow 
townsmen  crowded  the  shore  and  covered  the 
bay  to  see  the  Charleston  slide  from  the  land 
into  the  sea.  It  was  a  most  impressive  and  in- 
spiring spectacle.  As  the  steel  monster  leaped 
into  the  waves,  shaking  the  foam  from  her 
prow,  we  held  our  breath,  and  our  hearts  al- 
most stood  still.  A  new  king  had  been 
crowned,  a  new  force  had  been  turned  loose  to 
roam  at  large  over  the  high  seas,  and  ask  all 
evil-doers  the  reason  why,  and  give  all  enemies 
the  reason  why  not.  It  was  a  short  glance  and 
a  brief  prophecy  to  see  her  defending  our 
homes  and  harbor  and  coast  and  honor.  We 
found  ourselves  poised  between  the  wonders 
of  her  construction  and  the  wonders  of  her 
mission.  Sixty  centuries  of  science  were 
welded  into  her  steel  garments  and  mighty 
engines  and  cunning  appointments  and  accu- 
rate displacements  and  supple  movement  and 
resistless   projectiles.      From   these   mysteries 

507 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

our  thought  sprang  forward  upon  the  history- 
she  shall  write  with  her  prow.  We  saw  her 
like  a  hound  running  down  the  fleeing  foe,  or 
sinking  the  haughty  invader,  or  pushing  up 
under  the  eyes  of  threatening  nations,  like  the 
defiant  fist  of  a  great  free-fighting  race.  As 
I  gazed  at  her,  lying  on  the  sea,  light  as  a 
gull,  beautiful  as  a  swan,  swift  as  a  shark,  re- 
sistless as  a  leviathan,  I  uncovered  my  head, 
saying:  "Wonderful  factor  of  life  and  death! 
More  wonderful  still  the  brain  that  created 
you !  Most  wonderful  of  all  the  Supreme  One 
who  eventuated  and  potentialized  that  brain!" 
So  this  hour  I  stand  on  this  honorable  and 
historic  platform,  gazing  at  these  cruisers  now 
being  launched  upon  the  shoreless  sea  of 
human  weakness  and  want.  As  they  glide 
down  these  steps  into  the  actual  storms  and 
voyages  of  life,  my  interest  is  too  intense  for 
statement.  I  am  divided  between  the  wonder 
of  the  infinite  patience  and  skill  of  these  high 
workmen  who  have  wrought  the  common 
human  clay  that  came  into  their  hands  three 
years  ago  in  these  shapely  and  promising  po- 
tentialities, and  the  wonder  of  the  all-enduring 
patience  for  the  patients  and  the  patience  of 
the  patients  that  shall  make  up  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  oncoming  future.     I  see  these 

508 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

men  clad  in  the  armor  you  have  wrought  upon 
them,  impelled  by  the  forces  you  have  stored 
within  them,  and  inspired  by  the  spirit  you 
have  breathed  into  them,  pushing  out  into  the 
great  currents  of  life  to  confront  our  mortal 
enemies,  to  stand  in  the  breach  where  crowd- 
ing perils  threaten,  and  sit  quietly  in  the 
slaughter-pens  where  deaths  reach  the  famil- 
iarity of  companionship.  I  am  compelled  to 
admire  the  skilled  forces  that  are  here  liber- 
ated in  human  society,  and  wonder  at  the 
greater  skill  that  has  caused  and  liberated 
them,  and  adore  the  Supreme  Wisdom  that 
has  made  it  so  great  a  dignity  to  belong  to 
a  rational  race. 

I  know  that  these  new  doctors  are  in  the 
soft  veal  of  their  profession.  Yet  I  am  anx- 
ious to  honor  them  for  what  they  are  to  be. 
For  who  can  say  that  it  may  not  yet  be  my 
highest  good  fortune  to  secure  their  services 
in  that  critical  hour  that  for  us  all  is  only  a 
question  of  time.  Young  men,  if  we  do  meet 
at  that  Philippi,  remember  that  I  want  you 
to  come  at  the  top  of  your  possibilities  and 
give  me  a  new  chance,  a  new  lease  of  life. 

With  these  personal  relations  settled  and 
established,  I  want  now  to  tell  you  what  a 
layman  thinks  about  you  and  your  profession. 

509 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

It  is  a  great  and  honorable  profession.  It 
is  great  in  its  great  men.  It  is  fair  to  demand 
the  production  of  great  workers,  great  char- 
acters, great  leaders,  of  any  profession  that 
aspires  to  a  foremost  rank.  It  would  be  easy 
to  find  great  names,  from  Galen  to  Harvey 
and  to  Lister,  but  I  will  not  give  a  catalogue 
of  these  worthies.  The  peculiar  studies  of 
this  profession  cause  the  profession  to  overflow 
into  other  fields.  It  not  only  has  a  full  quota 
of  renowned  men  in  each  age  and  in  each 
generation  when  there  has  been  any  intel- 
lectual activity  at  all,  but  it  has  given  a  help- 
ing hand  to  lift  men  into  other  saddles.  Not 
a  few  of  the  great  leaders  in  the  different  de- 
partments of  science  are  the  just  product  of 
the  medical  profession.  They  are  known  to 
the  admiring  world  by  their  achievements  in 
some  highway  or  byway  of  science.  But  those 
who  come  nearest  to  them  know  that  this  pro- 
fession opened  the  door  to  them.  It  seems  not 
too  much  to  say  that  the  domain  of  knowledge 
owes  the  larger  part  of  its  advances  to  physi- 
cians and  missionaries.  These  often  work 
back  to  back,  but  they  work  and  march  into 
new^  fields  and  meet  in  the  antipodes.  By  a 
curious  turn  of  thought  your  profession  fre- 
quently kindles  great  beacon  lights  that  give 

510 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

their  radiance  to  my  profession.  Among  my 
late  great  colleagues  the  renown  of  Bishop 
Simpson  and  Bishop  Wiley  are  enough  to  es- 
tablish the  claim  of  the  physicians  to  fair  con- 
sideration. The  Great  Physician  was  early 
followed  by  Luke,  the  skillful  physician,  and 
He  has  had  hosts  of  heralds  ever  since,  who 
widened  and  strengthened  their  intellectual 
forces  in  the  study  of  medicine. 

This  profession  is  great  in  the  materials 
used.  We  have  one  standard  of  measurement 
for  men  based  on  what  they  handle  and  master. 
The  man  who  never  rises  above  a  saw-buck  or 
a  plow-handle  is  graded  by  his  work.  The 
cowboy  is  under  the  same  law.  The  machinist 
who  turns  bars  and  bands  of  steel  into  all  the 
cunning  utilities  of  our  civilization  climbs  up 
the  scale  of  life.  The  jeweler  creating  the  rich 
ornaments  from  the  precious  metals  has  a  cost- 
mark  of  his  own.  What  shall  we  say  of  the 
physician  who  works  on  this  most  wonderful 
of  all  substances;  viz.,  living  tissue?  Nerve 
tissue  is  the  most  costly  substance  known  in 
the  universe.  It  can  be  put  to  more  varied 
and  delicate  uses  than  anything  else.  It  takes 
longer  to  build  it  up.  It  costs  most  to  produce 
it.  It  brings  the  highest  price  in  the  mart  of 
Nature.    It  is  difficult  to  grade  too  highly  the 

511 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

workmen  who  manipulate  these  delicate  and 
costly  materials. 

The  October  Harper  s  gives  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  how  a  surgeon  transformed  an  idiot 
into  a  bright  child,  with  a  soul  and  a  chance. 
A  few  cuts  across  the  skull  not  far  from  the 
lines  where  Nature  sews  her  life  seams  let  in 
the  light.  The  feet  and  hands  straightened  out 
and  acted  under  purpose,  the  eye  caught  the 
light  of  intelligence,  and  the  thing  was 
wrought  over  in  a  single  month  into  a  man 
child, 

A  little  boy  in  Brooklyn  fell  from  the 
dooryard  fence.  Soon  he  was  changed  from 
the  best  to  the  worst  of  boys.  There  was  no 
living  with  him.  He  was  taken  to  the  hos- 
pital. The  doctor  lifted  out  a  little  piece  of 
his  skull.  Soon  he  recovered  his  former  gen- 
tleness and  was  as  lovable  as  before  his  fall. 
I  have  seen  other  children  and  some  adults  that 
ought  to  be  sent  to  that  Brooklyn  hospital. 

I  doubt  not  there  are  scores  of  divorced 
and  wretched  people  in  our  beautiful  city  that 
would  have  been  living  together  in  honor  and 
happiness  if  they  could  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  doctors  instead  of  the  lawyers. 

It  is  too  early,  I  fear  it  may  always  be 
too  early,  as  with  Koch's  remedy,  to  say  that 

512 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

the  bichloride  of  gold  will  supplant  or  super- 
annuate the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  but  this  much  is  manifest,  that  if  any 
medical  treatment  will  take  the  fever  of  liquor 
out  of  a  man's  blood  and  neutralize  his  appe- 
tite for  alcohol,  then  it  will  restore  the  victim 
to  a  better  probation  and  give  him  a  better 
chance  for  achieving  moral  character.  Surely 
it  must  be  a  great  profession  that  works  in 
such  costly  materials  and  produces  so  much 
like  the  products  from  God's  workshop,  so 
much  like  the  achievements  of  His  re-creating 
grace. 

The  medical  profession  is  great  in  its  spirit. 
This,  after  all,  is  the  supreme  test.  The 
quality  of  one  dollar  is  the  same  as  the  quality 
of  a  million  dollars.  The  difference  is  not  one 
of  use,  but  of  numbers;  not  one  of  quality,  but 
of  quantity.  Talents,  like  possessions,  receive 
their  moral  character  not  from  their  greatness, 
but  from  their  use.  Physicians  hold  a  high 
rank  by  the  spirit  of  their  labor.  The  Hippo- 
cratic  Oath  has  run  its  high  purpose  through 
the  profession.  Not  every  doctor  lives  up  to 
it.  Not  every  Christian  adorns  his  Church 
and  honors  his  creed.  But  it  is  good  soil  that 
will  make  such  an  Oath  possible. 

God's  order  is  this:  "Judged  by  the  deeds 

33  513 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

done  in  the  body."  Applied  to  physicians,  I 
must  give  them  a  high  rank  in  character. 
They  do  a  larger  per  cent  of  purely  charitable 
and  unremunerated  labor  than  any  other  class 
of  men  in  the  round  of  my  acquaintance. 
They  are  pulled  out  of  their  warm  beds  and 
hurried  through  dark  and  filthy  streets  into 
poor  hovels  and  sheds  to  perform  the  most  un- 
pleasant and  repulsive  duties,  at  all  hours 
of  the  night,  in  all  sorts  of  weather,  with  the 
least  chance  of  financial  profit.  They  spend 
hours  and  nights  in  most  disagreeable  places, 
laboring  with  the  least  desirable  people,  in  con- 
tact with  the  most  dangerous  diseases.  Their 
charities  cost  them  something.  The  gift  of 
money,  if  one  has  much,  may  not  be  costly.  I 
never  reflect  upon  the  sacrifices  and  charities  of 
an  average  physician  without  thinking  of  the 
Great  Physician,  who  went  into  soul-healing 
through  body-healing.  You  have  a  magnifi- 
cent opportunity  for  maturing  the  highest 
Christian  virtues.  While  I  am  charmed  with 
the  great  bulk  and  abundance  of  noble  work 
done  by  physicians,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me 
to  forget  that  these  acts  of  charity  afiford  only 
opportunities  for  the  maturing  of  virtues,  not 
necessarily  the  virtues  themselves.  Let  us  not 
be  deceived.     We  are  too  familiar  with  the 

514 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

nexus  between  motive  and  virtue,  a  nexus  so 
strong  that  no  power  known  in  the  universe 
can  sever  it,  to  find  reward  independent  of  the 
intent.  If  you  will  come  into  my  lecture-room 
as  I  am  now  in  yours,  I  will  tell  you  that 
salvation  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  being  saved 
by  grace  we  are  rewarded  according  to  our 
works.  Maintaining  a  life-touch  with  the 
Great  Physician,  you  can,  through  that  love 
of  God  which  "is  broader  than  the  measure  of 
man's  mind,"  transform  these  wondrous  works 
of  love  and  good-will  into  sources  of  everlast- 
ing rewards.    This  is  my  sermon  to-night. 

You,  many  of  you,  remember  little  "All 
Right,"  who  traveled  with  a  troop  of  Japa- 
nese jugglers.  He  used  to  perform  on  the 
trapeze,  and  especially  on  a  long  pole  which 
his  father  held.  The  performance  was  made 
hideous  by  the  pounding  and  clatter  of  Japa- 
nese music.  But  through  all  the  performance 
and  with  all  the  music,  the  father  gave  forth 
a  minor  chord  that  penetrated  the  boy's  ear  in 
spite  of  all  the  din  and  kept  his  attention.  He 
listened  to  that,  and  forgot  the  perils  of  his 
position  and  the  clatter  of  the  Japanese  music. 
It  assured  him  of  his  father's  care  and  steadied 
him  for  every  effort.  I  ask  you  to  accept  my 
little  sermon  to-night  as  a  minor  chord  run- 

515 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ning  through  this  talk,  that  may  give  you  a 
glimpse  of  the  fact  that  "the  heart  of  the  Eter- 
nal is  most  wonderfully  kind." 

The  average  physician  stands  head  and 
shoulders  above  men  of  other  secular  callings 
in  the  faithfulness  w^ith  which  he  attends  to 
the  poor  and  rich  alike,  in  the  liberality  with 
which  he  often  furnishes  the  needed  medicines 
which  the  poverty  whose  summons  he  has 
obeyed  is  unable  to  procure.  Often  these  men 
tarry,  in  spite  of  their  weariness,  in  these  un- 
comfortable and  pestilent  quarters,  to  act  as 
nurses  when  other  help  can  not  be  secured. 
The  appeals  to  them  come,  like  cries  on  the 
field  after  a  battle,  as  a  most  exhausting  tax 
upon  the  nerves.  Surely  this  must  be  a  great 
profession,  measured  by  its  heroic  and  exalted 
spirit,  and  by  its  opportunities  for  achieving 
eternal  rewards. 

The  medical  profession  is  great  in  the 
courage  of  its  membership.  Courage  is  no 
mean  virtue.  It  is  not  limited  to  charges  on 
battlefields.  It  is  not  monopolized  by  the 
bulldog  who  takes  hold  and  does  not  know 
how  to  let  go.  It  is  not  confined  to  the  blind 
determination  of  the  grizzly  bear.  It  par- 
takes of  a  higher  element.  It  rises  into  the 
field  of  moral  purpose  and  personal  sacrifice. 

516 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

It  is  possessed  of  calculations.  It  sees  the 
danger  and  marches  up  to  it.  That  is  the  cour- 
age that  characterizes  the  young  man  who  de- 
liberately selects  the  profession  of  medicine 
and  sits  down  to  earn  bread  and  fame  in  that 
field. 

It  is  the  most  overcrowded  of  all  the 
learned  professions,  if  we  rule  begging  and 
tramping  out  of  the  list  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. To  enter  it  requires  the  courage  of  a 
soldier  and  the  repose  of  a  philosopher. 
Think  of  the  United  States,  with  only  sixty 
million  people,  sustaining  and  operating 
about  twice  as  many  medical  colleges  as  all 
the  great  empires  of  Europe  and  Asia  with  a 
population  of  one  billion.  Our  sixty  millions 
of  people  employ  over  one  hundred  thousand 
physicians,  one  for  every  six  hundred  persons. 
In  France,  according  to  Dr.  Doering,  there 
is  one  to  two  thousand;  in  Austria,  one  to 
twenty-five  hundred ;  in  Germany,  one  to  three 
thousand;  in  Italy,  one  to  thirty-five  hundred; 
in  Sweden,  one  to  seventy-five  hundred.  If 
there  is  any  moral  in  these  figures,  this  must 
be  true.  If  Europe  is  properly  doctored,  then 
there  must  be  in  America  either  a  great  many 
sick  people  or  a  great  many  sick  physicians. 
The  prizes  must  be  very  great,  though  not  so 

517 


ADDRESSES   ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

numerous.  It  must  be  like  mining;  the  one 
mine  in  twenty-four  hundred  must  be  a  great 
success  to  float  so  many  corpses.  The  prizes 
for  the  physicians  ought  to  be  very  great  to 
reward  them  for  their  severe  labors  and  nar- 
row chances.  None  but  heroes  need  enter 
this  field. 

The  medical  profession  is  great  in  its  pos- 
sibilities. It  is  the  most  progressive  of  the 
learned  professions.  Theology  does  advance, 
but  most  of  our  successful  advances  are  like 
the  apparent  advance  of  the  crawfish,  back- 
ward— backward  toward  the  Word  of  God; 
forward  indeed  to  better  interpretations  and  to 
wider  and  wiser  brotherhoods.  Law  advances 
only  with  the  state  of  the  public  mind.  It 
keeps  step  with  the  wish  or  thought  of  the 
people.  Medicine  seems  to  push  on  by  a  law 
of  its  own.  It  has  no  supreme  authority 
simply  needing  interpretation.  It  has  a  wide 
field  of  experiment.  Its  experiments  are 
guesses.  With  so  great  an  army  of  experi- 
menters and  all  the  race  to  experiment  upon,  it 
would  be  worse  than  the  total  depravity  of  in- 
animate things  if  double  sixes  did  not  come 
up  occasionally. 

I  need  not  take  much  time  in  pointing  out 
these  fortunate  throws.    Yesterday  doctors  are 

518 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

said  to  have  prescribed  by  streets.  All  the 
sick  people  on  A  Street  must  be  bled  to-day, 
and  all  the  sick  people  on  B  Street  must  take 
an  emetic.  Then  to-morrow  the  order  is 
changed  and  the  streets  reversed.  Now  the 
physicians  prescribe  according  to  the  individ- 
ual case,  not  for  the  whims  of  the  patient,  but 
according  to  the  facts  of  the  disease.  Not 
every  young  doctor  can  correctly  interpret  the 
sounds  he  hears  in  listening  to  the  voices  from 
within  the  physical  nature  of  his  patient,  and 
it  is  often  very  costly  to  teach  him  this  new 
language.  It  is  said  that  it  takes  a  peck  of 
eyes  to  make  an  oculist.  Yet  that  peck  saves 
bushels  of  other  eyes.  A  worthy  doctor  does 
not  regard  himself  equipped  till  he  has 
learned  the  language  of  the  healthy  and  dis- 
eased nature.  In  these  days  he  does  master 
that  occult  language  and  directs  the  relief 
forces  along  the  available  approaches  to  the 
center  of  the  strife. 

Every  yard  of  the  modern  journey  of  this 
great  profession  is  marked  by  some  wonderful 
discovery.  The  stethoscope  itself  in  impor- 
tance is  not  much  behind  the  discovery  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood.  How  many  songs  of 
life  and  death  it  sings  to  the  practiced  ear! 
Who  can  estimate  the  value  to  the  suffering 

519 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

race  of  the  use  of  the  microscope?  A  single 
glance  at  a  single  tissue  from  some  tumor  has 
given  unconditional  discharge  from  the  prison 
house  of  fear,  as  the  doctor  has  known  with 
absolute  certainty  that  the  tumor  is  not  can- 
cerous. 

We  have  no  arithmetic  with  which  to  com- 
pute the  relief  and  comfort  that  have  been  se- 
cured by  the  discovery  and  use  of  atKBsthetics. 
I  had  rather  be  the  author  of  that  blessing  for 
my  kind  than  of  any  other  physical  comfort. 
The  only  thing  I  can  place  above  it  is  the 
displacement  of  a  malignant  Pagan  fatalism 
by  a  free  gospel  of  peace.  In  my  youth  I  was 
pulled  around  the  office  of  a  country  doctor  by 
a  stubborn  back  tooth  for  two  hours,  till  I  tired 
out  the  stoutest  doctor  in  the  county.  Do  n't 
you  think  I  would  gladly  have  given  my  last 
penny  to  have  pontooned  that  chasm  with 
harmless  unconsciousness?  Not  long  ago  I 
went  into  the  office  of  a  scientific  physician 
with  fear  and  trembling  to  have  my  throat 
burned  out.  He  swabbed  it  with  cocaine, 
which  only  tickled  a  little.  In  a  few  moments 
I  smelt  something,  like  cooking  beefsteak  or 
veal  cutlet;  rather  an  agreeable  sensation,  and 
the  trouble  was  all  over.  Add  to  the  quietness 
of  the  great  army  of  sufferers  under  the  sur- 

520 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

geon's  knife  the  increased  certainty  of  success 
that  the  improved  conditions  give  him,  and 
you  have  a  debt  of  gratitude  due  from  the  race 
to  this  great  profession  that  even  the  gold  of 
our  beloved  California  could  not  discharge. 
Who  can  enumerate  the  blessings  to  count- 
less homes  in  the  continued  care  and  love  of 
the  mother  that  have  been  secured  by  the  tri- 
umphs in  ovariotomy?  Think  of  the  faces 
that  have  been  made  presentable  and  happy 
by  skin-grafting!  See  the  great  army  of  use- 
ful men  and  women  whose  limbs  or  spines 
have  been  straightened  and  strengthened. 
Wait  till  you  look  upon  the  apparently  warp- 
ing spine  of  your  infant  son,  and  in  one  mo- 
ment see  him  twisted  into  an  interrogation 
mark,  an  interrogation  mark  which  with  des- 
pairing and  almost  rebellious  hand  you  dash 
upon  the  front  of  the  very  throne  of  God,  and 
then  feel  every  drop  of  your  blood  boil  up  into 
one  purpose  and  every  fiber  of  your  being 
twist  up  into  one  everlasting  determination  at 
all  costs  to  leave  him  above  want  and  certain 
of  social  recognition;  then  you  will  have  some 
faint  idea  of  what  this  great  profession  is 
worth  in  a  life  where  Nature's  defeated  har- 
monies often  need  restoring.  See  the  advances 
made  in  the  preparation  of  the  remedies!    In- 

521 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

stead  of  the  coarse  barks  and  bitter  and  flood- 
ing teas,  which  made  the  springtimes  of  our 
youth  a  horrid  nightmare,  now,  when  we  must 
be  remedied,  we  have  some  delicious  extract 
that  gives  us  no  trouble.  It  may  be  heroic  to 
insist  on  nasty  doses  for  others,  but  we  would 
like  to  have  their  advocates  take  them.  The 
doctors  and  the  schoolmasters  have  advanced 
a  thousand  years  in  my  short  lifetime.  Then 
we  wanted  to  cry  when  we  saw  either;  now 
our  children  mourn  if  we  are  prevented  from 
seeing  them. 

The  luminous  path  up  which  this  profes- 
sion has  come  to  its  present  character  is  only 
a  promise  of  infinitely  more  useful  achieve- 
ments in  the  future.  The  vast  storehouse  of 
Nature's  resources  is  at  hand.  Its  key  hangs 
at  the  belt  of  the  intelligent  experimenter. 
Surely,  with  such  chances  for  development 
and  with  such  a  momentum  of  success,  this 
must  be  a  great  profession.  Honor  to  whom 
honor  is  due! 

Having  said  so  much  about  your  profes- 
sion, allow  me  to  say  something  to  you — things 
suggested  by  my  standpoint  as  a  layman.  Al- 
low me  to  follow  the  order  of  a  sermon  once 
repeated  to  me  from  the  text,  "Enoch  walked 

522 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

with  God,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him." 
After  an  introduction  on  the  points  that  Enoch 
was  no  idle  vagabond  because  he  walked,  he 
did  not  ride,  and  he  was  a  believer  in  God  be- 
cause he  walked  and  did  not  run,  the  preacher 
said,  we  will  now  tell  what  Enoch  was  not, 
for  the  text  says  he  was  not;  first,  he  was  not  a 
Baptist,  because  he  walked,  he  did  not  swim; 
second,  he  was  not  a  Presbyterian,  because  he 
walked  with  God ;  third,  he  was  a  roaring  and 
shouting  old  Methodist,  because  God  took 
him.  Without  adopting  the  spirit  of  this  ser- 
mon, which  shows  zeal  at  the  expense  of 
breadth,  we  will  only  borrow  the  form  and 
tell  you  what  we  do  not  want  in  a  physician, 
what  our  physician  is  not, 

I.  He  is  not  on  the  side-track.  We  have 
seen  engines  about  the  great  depots  that  made 
a  great  deal  of  noise,  pushing  and  pulling,  go- 
ing and  backing,  ringing  the  bell,  and  taking 
on  just  as  if  they  were  actually  going  some- 
where. But  they  are  not.  They  are  only  run- 
ning up  and  down  on  the  side-track  behind  the 
depot.  They  never  go  anywhere,  unless  it  be 
when  some  real  engine  pulls  them  into  a  repair 
shop.  Some  doctors  are  always  on  the  side- 
track.    They  are  switched  off  by  politics  or 

523 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

by  some  speculations.  Back  in  the  old  days, 
when  Chicago  had  only  eighty  thousand  in- 
habitants instead  of  its  eleven  hundred  or 
twelve  hundred  thousand,  I  used  to  see  a  phy- 
sician who  speculated  in  canal  lands,  and  he 
gave  his  pills  on  canal  time — one  quarter 
down  and  the  rest  in  one,  two,  and  three  years. 
He  made  more  money  out  of  land  than  out  of 
pills,  but  he  ceased  to  be  a  physician.  Our 
doctor  avoids  the  side-track. 

2.  He  is  no  mere  hobbyist.  I  can  find  a 
great  physician  who,  they  say,  will  cut  your 
palate  if  you  have  the  leg  ache.  I  know  an- 
other, who,  they  say,  will  cut  your  eyeballs  if 
you  have  corns.  In  old  days  the  physician,  the 
barber,  and  the  midwife  were  practitioners  in 
separate  parts  of  this  great  profession,  and 
each  was  punctilious  not  to  do  or  know  any- 
thing that  belonged  to  the  others.  But  now  the 
physician  is  supposed  to  round  up  all  this 
knowledge  in  one  bosom.  He  may  not  prac- 
tice surgery  and  midwifery,  but  he  knows 
thoroughly  about  the  practice  of  each.  If  you 
perfect  yourself  in  some  specialty,  let  that  spe- 
cialty be  backed  and  sustained  by  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  your  great  profession.  There 
is  but  one  Shasta  on  the  earth,  rising  out  of  a 
plain.     The   highest  peaks    rise  out  of  vast 

524 


THE  THYSICIAN 

ranges.  The  peaks  standing  alone  are  over- 
estimated. Measured,  they  are  usually  only 
hills  or  hillocks. 

3.  He  is  not  a  theologian.  Now  and  then 
a  superior  man  masters  one  profession,  then 
masters  another,  but  these  are  rare  exceptions. 
Our  doctor  does  not  dabble  in  theology  as  if 
he  were  an  authority.  That  is  work  for  all 
the  faculties  and  all  the  forces  of  the  greatest 
minds.  The  doctor  who  is  to  help  best  in  the 
hand-to-hand  struggle  for  life  has  not  those 
forces  to  spare.  When  I  want  medicine  I 
want  it  prescribed  by  a  regular  physician.  I 
do  not  want  a  quack  about  me.  When  you 
want  theology,  go  to  a  regular  theologian  and 
get  a  good  article.  Quacks  in  theology  are  as 
offensive  and  harmful  as  quacks  in  medicine. 

4.  He  is  not  a  skeptic.  There  is  an  opinion 
abroad  in  certain  quarters  that  physicians  are 
usually  skeptics.  This  is  an  overstatement. 
Many  physicians  have  drifted  from  their 
rtioorings  on  many  things  taught  by  theologi- 
ans. But  a  large  per  cent  of  the  leading  minds 
in  the  profession  are  in  hearty  accord  with 
the  principal  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  Many  of 
the  greatest  lights,  like  N.  S.  Davis,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  leading  men  in  the  faculty  of  this 
college,   have   a  personal   acquaintance  with 

525 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

saving  grace.  In  a  revival  in  a  community  in 
Ohio  a  young  lawyer  professed  to  be  con- 
verted. At  the  close  of  the  meetings  the  pastor 
was  receiving  the  converts  into  the  Church. 
The  young  lawyer  did  not  come  forward  to 
unite  with  the  Church.  When  asked  why  he 
did  not,  he  said:  ''I  can  not.  You  know  I  am 
a  lawyer."  The  preacher  said:  "Come  along, 
you  are  not  lawyer  enough  to  hurt."  So  it 
happens  in  this  profession  that  some  who  are 
not  doctor  enough  to  hurt  or  are  just  enough 
to  hurt  count  themselves  as  skeptical.  There 
are  some  great  characters  who  are  not  in  loyal 
support  of  Christianity.  It  is  one  of  the  pen- 
alties paid  by  exclusive  or  exacting  attention 
to  one  great  department  of  truth.  Other  de- 
partments do  not  have  a  fair  chance.  Alexan- 
der von  Humboldt,  busy  all  his  life  with  the 
scientific  study  of  the  material  sides  of  the 
world,  said:  "I  am  of  the  religion  af  all  men 
of  science,"  as  if  all  men  of  science  ever  had 
anything  in  common.  His  equally  great 
brother,  William,  studying  the  problems  of 
life  and  society,  of  human  wants  and  human 
history,  bore  simple  testimony  to  Christianity. 
If  all  the  energies  are  drawn  off  in  one  chan- 
nel, they  will  not  be  found  in  some  other  as 
abundant.    While  this  profession  furnishes  its 

526 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

full  share  of  doubters,  yet  we  do  not  want  an 
atheist  or  skeptic  as  our  physician.  Approxi- 
mately correct  ideas  of  God,  of  accountability, 
of  the  moral  government,  of  heaven,  of  hell, 
of  the  judgment  and  of  eternity,  can  not  but 
enlarge  the  mind  and  set  it  about  the  work  of 
life  with  renewed  vigor.  There  is  some  com- 
fort in  feeling  that  your  doctor  believes  in  God 
and  is  in  league  with  his  Providence  and  with 
events.  One  feels  the  steadiness  and  sustain- 
ing power  of  an  enlightened  conscience  to  be 
great  allies  in  the  struggle  for  life,  where 
every  atom  of  energy  and  every  possible  ad- 
vantage must  be  utilized.  It  is  also  assuring 
to  know  that  the  inner  and  private  history  of 
one's  family  are  in  the  keeping  of  a  conscien- 
tious man.  Build  we  never  so  carefully  our 
houses  and  homes,  yet  sooner  or  later  we  must 
hand  over  the  key  to  the  family  physician.  It 
means  much  to  all  of  us,  Christian  or  non- 
Christian,  to  know  that  that  key  is  held  in  the 
hand  of  a  great  moral  obligation  as  under  the 
scrutiny  of  the  Supreme  Ruler,  to  whom  a 
strict  account  must  be  rendered.  Our  doctor 
is  not  a  skeptic. 

5.  He  is  a  man.  He  is  a  manly  man.  He 
is  robust  in  body  and  mind.  He  does  not 
threaten  to  outrun  the  patient  and  get  into  the 

527 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

grave  first.  He  is  a  substantial,  broad-souled, 
many-sided  man,  who  is  too  large  for  the  lit- 
tle trickeries  and  pettinesses  of  life.  He  im- 
parts vigor  to  us  by  the  enswathements  of  his 
presence  and  greatness. 

6.  He  is  a  wise,  scholarly  man.  He  keeps 
up  with  his  calling.  He  keeps  in  touch  with 
the  leaders  of  his  profession.  He  is  at  home 
with  all  the  new  achievements  in  his  science. 
We  excuse  but  few  mistakes  in  him.  Napo- 
leon said  a  blunder  in  a  field  marshal  is  the 
worst  of  crimes.  So  our  doctor  must  make  no 
blunders,  or  the  fewest  possible,  none  that  any 
one  else  could  avoid.  We  have  too  much  at 
issue.  We  read  the  little  girPs  composition 
on  anatomy,  in  which  she  says  that  anatomy 
consists  of  three  cavities;  the  first  is  called  the 
skull,  and  is  intended  to  contain  the  brains,  if 
they  have  any;  the  second  is  called  the  thorax, 
and  contains  the  heart,  lungs,  and  giblets;  the 
third  is  called  the  bowels,  of  which  there  are 
five,  A,  E,  I,  O,  U,  and  sometimes  W  and  Y. 
We  smile  at  this  bright  ignorance.  But  when 
we  hear  a  young  doctor  say:  'Well,  if  that 
patient  has  caught  the  convalescence,  it  will 
go  hard  with  him,  for  people  seldom  survive 
that  complication,"  then  we  shudder.  Our 
doctor  must  not  make  serious  mistakes.     Dr. 

52a 


THE  PHYSICIAN 

Arnold,  lecturing  before  the  students  of  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  of  Balti- 
more, says:  "A  distended  bladder  is  mistaken 
for  dropsy;  a  tumor  for  pregnancy;  strangu- 
lated hernia  for  colic  and  constipation;  tu- 
bercular meningitis  for  gastric  derangement; 
effusion  into  the  right  pleura  for  enlarged 
liver."  Our  doctor  must  have  such  thorough 
acquaintance  with  his  business  that  he  w^ill  not 
make  such  blunders  in  treating  us.  We  are 
glad  to  have  him  gentlemanly  and  neat  and 
well  dressed  and  compact  and  held  closely  to- 
gether in  his  raiment,  body  and  mind,  but  he 
must  know  his  business  and  be  able  to  do  the 
best  possible  for  us  every  time  he  does  any- 
thing. 

7.  Our  doctor  must  have  character.  This 
is  the  sum  of  all  other  gifts,  abilities,  acquire- 
ments, appearances.  This  rounds  up  all  else. 
I  remember  to  have  read  in  the  address  of  the 
honored  President  of  this  noble  institution,  de- 
livered on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  or 
this  building,  these  wise  words:  "Your  Fac- 
ulty strongly  believe  and  diligently  teach  that 
the  professional  character  is  sadly  incomplete 
unless  high  scientific  training  be  conjoined 
with  equally  high  morals."  In  emphasizing 
the  value  of  character,  we  distinguish  charac- 

34  529 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

ter  from  reputation.  For  reputation  is  only 
the  appearance;  character  is  the  substance; 
reputation  is  the  dust  which  frightened  swine 
may  start  in  the  street;  character  is  the  dia- 
mond that  sparkles  on  the  brow  of  royalty; 
reputation  is  the  breath  of  the  mob;  character 
is  the  verdict  of  God;  reputation  is  the  meteor 
that  flashes  a  moment  athwart  the  gloom  and 
vanishes  in  the  darkness.  Character  is  the  sun 
that  blazes  on  in  the  firmament  forever  and 
forever.  Our  doctor  must  have  this  divine 
patent  of  nobility  that  will  make  him  the 
younger  brother  of  the  truth  itself,  so  that 
truth  everywhere  will  be  in  league  with  him 
and  adhere  to  him. 

Gentlemen  of  this  ancient  and  noble  pro- 
fession, brother  toilers  on  the  plains  of  time, 
we  are  all  alike  sent  to  till  and  keep  the  farm 
of  the  world.  Some  of  the  workers  in  their 
haste  about  the  stumping  and  clearing  of  this 
farm  do  not  come  near  enough  to  the  great 
paternal  mansion  to  hear  the  music  and  enjoy 
the  feast,  but  they  are  helping  to  subdue  the 
wild  farm.  It  is  not  the  best  use  of  our  ener- 
gies to  club  each  other.  Let  no  worker  be 
clubbed  from  the  farm.  God  can  be  trusted 
ro  distribute  the  pennies,  even  though  it  be 
in  the  shade  and  cool  of  the  evening. 

530 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 


Written  on  behalf  of  a  Committee  appointed  by  the  Board 

of  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

as  an  appeal  for  a  week  of  prayer,  and 

pubhshed    March    1,    1900. 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

We,  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  after  careful  review  of  the 
work  and  prayerful  self-examination,  ask  the 
Church  to  unite  with  us  in  a  week  of  fasting 
or  abstinence  and  prayer,  that  the  spiritual  life 
of  all  our  members  may  be  renewed  and  deep- 
ened; that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  be  poured 
out  upon  us  as  a  Church  and  as  individuals 
so  abundantly  that  every  member  may  have 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  to  adoption,  and  to 
fullness  and  completeness  of  redemption  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  and  that  the  unsaved  members  of 
our  families  and  our  unsaved  neighbors  may 
be  converted  and  brought  into  the  Church; 
and  that  all  our  ministers  may  have  such  a 
baptism  of  power  that  God's  word,  spoken  by 
their  mouths,  may  have  such  success  that  it 
may  never  be  spoken  in  vain,  but  be  followed 
by  results  bringing  glory  to  God's  name  and 
spiritual  power  to  His  Church;  and  that  wis- 
dom and  a  sound  mind  may  be  given  to  the 
General  Conference  for  all  its  deliberations, 

533 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

and  that  its  decisions  may  insure  the  enlarge- 
ment of  Christ's  spiritual  kingdom. 

The  Marquis  of  Argyll,  one  of  Scotland's 
noblest  heroes,  a  statesman  and  a  leader,  brave 
and  resolute,  openly  committed  himself  to  the 
cause  of  Protestantism  and  signed  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  He  became  the  recog- 
nized leader  in  council  and  in  the  field.  Cap- 
tured and  imprisoned,  he  was  sentenced  to 
death.  He  spent  the  last  morning  busily  at- 
tending to  last  things  and  receiving  his  friends 
for  the  last  time.  He  w^as  marching  up  to 
the  last  hour  with  the  courage  of  a  soldier  and 
the  quiet  firmness  of  a  Stoic.  Away  in  a  re- 
mote part  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  private  room,  his 
devoted  wife  and  pastor  were  on  their  knees 
before  God,  praying:  '^O  Lord,  seal  unto  him 
now  Thy  covenant,  and  say  unto  him,  'Son,  be 
of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee!  ^' 
At  this  very  hour  the  marquis  in  his  prison- 
room  walked  over  to  the  fireplace  and  was 
poking  the  fire,  when  suddenly  he  turned 
round,  and,  bursting  into  tears,  exclaimed  to 
his  friends :  ''This  will  not  do.  I  must  declare 
what  the  Lord  has  just  done  for  my  soul.  He 
has  this  very  instant  sealed  my  charter  in  these 
words,  'Son,  be  of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  are 

534 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

forgiven  thee/ "'  The  triumph  of  his  martyr- 
dom illumined  all  the  sky  of  Scotland.  Who 
can  tell  how  much  Protestantism  owes  to  that 
devoted  wife  and  pastor? 

Methodism  Confronting  a  Serious  Situ- 
ation. 

To-day  our  Methodism  confronts  a  seri- 
ous situation.  Our  statistics  for  the  last  year 
show  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  our  mem- 
bers. Year  before  last  our  advance  was 
checked.  Last  year  our  advance  column  has 
been  forced  back  a  little.  The  lost  ground  is 
paved  with  the  dead.  We  are  surrounded  by 
powerful  enemies.  The  attack  is  on  every 
side.  It  is  high  time  for  every  Methodist  to 
take  himself  or  herself  to  prayer,  to  call 
mightily  on  God  for  help,  that  each  one  may 
know  for  himself  that  he  is  accepted  of  God, 
that  in  this  testing  time  each  one  may  hear  the 
Lord  say,  "Be  of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  are 
forgiven  thee." 

Methodism  was  called  into  being  to  teach 
and  illustrate  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit,  and  that  to  every  state  of 
grace,  conviction,  justification,   regeneration, 

535 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

adoption,  and  sanctification.  As  Protestant- 
ism really  began  when  Martin  Luther,  on  his 
knees,  climbing  the  Scalae  Sanctae  in  Rome, 
heard  the  Lord  say,  "The  just  shall  live  by 
faith,"  so  Methodism  really  began  when  John 
Wesley,  studying  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
"felt  that  strange  warming  in  his  heart,"  and 
knew  that  he  was  adopted  into  the  heavenly 
family,  having  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  whis- 
pering within,  "Abba,  Father."  Methodism 
began  in  experience.  It  has  been  strong  in 
a  personal  conviction,  deeper  than  logic,  more 
certain  than  argument,  as  deep  as  the  very 
depths  of  personal  consciousness.  It  has, 
therefore,  never  been  obliged  to  go  away  from 
home  to  learn  about  itself;  nor  has  it  ever  had 
schism  or  quarrel  about  doctrine.  It  has  il- 
lustrated the  statement,  "If  any  man  will  do 
His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine." 
There  are  many  saints  in  the  world  who  have 
the  seal  of  the  covenant  and  know  that  their 
sins  are  forgiven,  who  do  not  know  that  they 
are  essentially  Methodists,  and  testify  that 
their  sins  are  forgiven.  And  there  are  now, 
unhappily,  many  Methodists  who  lack  present 
knowledge  of  New  Testament  salvation. 
They  have  slipped  a  cog  in  their  experience, 
andj  like  many  old  families,  who  have  to  date 

536 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

back  to  some  buried  ancestor  to  find  their 
virtue  and  title  to  their  nobility,  have  to  date 
back  to  some  dead  experience  to  find  their  as- 
surance and  title  to  spiritual  nobility. 

The  Trouble  with  the  Statistics. 

It  is  this  slipped  cog  in  our  experience  that 
ails  our  statistics.  We  have  much  else  worthy 
of  thought  and  needing  attention.  But  let  us 
not  be  deceived  or  diverted.  The  difficulty 
is  right  here.  When  we  talk  about  other  things 
and  enumerate  our  hindrances  as  explanations 
of  our  statistics,  we  are  imitating  the  logic  of 
the  old  Middle  Age  theologian  who  said: 
"The  reason  why  God  did  not  make  the  world 
better  was  not  on  account  of  any  lack  of  power 
in  Him,  but  on  account  of  certain  stubbornness 
in  the  materials."  In  our  case  it  is  simply 
lack  of  spiritual  power,  of  personal  experi- 
ence, lack  of  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  lack  of 
the  seal  of  the  covenant,  that  makes  the  diffi- 
culties so  prominent.  There  are  no  hard  cases 
with  God.  Faith,  like  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  removes  mountains.  The  old  faith 
'laughs  at  impossibilities,  and  cries,  It  must 
be  done." 

537 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  Opportunity  of  Methodism. 

We  have  much  for  which  we  should  ren- 
der glad  thanks  to  God.  His  providence  has 
given  us  a  great  task  in  this  New  World  civ- 
ilization. Our  opportunity  is  as  wide  as  the 
republic,  as  wide  as  Anglo-Saxon  dominion, 
as  wide  as  "the  world."  God  has  "set  before 
thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it." 
Opportunity  is  power.  It  is  for  us  to  deter- 
mine whether  we  will  enter  in  and  reign,  or 
hesitate  and  let  another  take  our  crown.  We 
have  a  great  spiritual  ancestry;  we  are  born 
of  heroes.  We  are  the  heirs  of  the  men  "who 
turned  the  world  upside  down."  We  inherit 
their  weapons,  their  armor,  their  defenses, 
their  fields,  their  foes,  their  banners,  and  their 
obligations.  We  .must  not  fail  to  perpetuate 
their  spirit,  duplicate  their  scars,  and  match 
their  victories.  We  have  vast  resources — 
church  property  estimated  by  the  hundred 
million  dollars;  Church  members,  more  than 
two  million;  Sunday-school  children,  nearly 
as  many  more.  We  have  missions  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe  and  in  almost  every  im- 
portant country.  We  have  great  organized 
benevolences  in  nearly  every  field  of  human 
want.    We  have  successful  revivals  reported 

538 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

from  hundreds  of  our  Churches.  We  bow 
with  grateful  hearts,  remembering  what  God 
has  done  for  us.  But  when  we  see  how  little 
we  have  done  for  Him,  how  we  are  retreating 
in  spite  of  all  our  appliances,  we  feel  our  lack 
of  power,  and  we  can  only  fall  on  our  faces 
and  cry  to  Him  to  have  mercy  upon  us  and 
''not  cut  us  down,  but  spare  us  another  year," 
and  dig  about  us  and  fertilize  us  and  see  if  we 
will  not  do  better.  We  can  hear  Him  "who 
walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candle- 
sticks, and  carrieth  the  stars  in  His  hands," 
saying  to  us,  as  to  the  beleagured  Church  in 
old  Ephesus :  "I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  la- 
bor, and  thy  patience,  and  how  thou  canst  not 
bear  them  which  are  evil :  .  .  .  and  hast 
borne,  and  hast  patience,  and  for  My  name's 
sake  hast  labored,  and  hast  not  fainted.  Nev- 
ertheless  I  have  somewhat  against  thee,  be- 
cause thou  hast  left  thy  first  love.  Remember, 
therefore,  from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and 
repent,  and  do  the  first  works;  or  else  I  will 
come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy 
candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except  thou  re- 
pent." O  God,  pity  us  and  give  us,  as  far  as 
we  can  bear  it,  some  approximate  sense  of 
our  poverty  and  helplessness  and  need  of 
Thee! 

539 


ADDRESSES  ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

The  Greatest  Need  of  Methodism. 

Our  greatest  need  Is  the  sense  of  our  need. 
Quietness  is  not  security.  A  man  sleeping 
in  his  boat  drifting  in  the  rapids  of  Niagara 
may  dream  that  he  is  a  child  again,  rocked  by 
his  mother's  hand.  But  that  dream  will  not 
change  the  fact  that  he  is  shooting  like  an  ar- 
row toward  death.  It  is  possible  to  so  em- 
brace and  hug  a  fatal  error  that  we  may  carry 
it  in  our  arms  to  the  judgment  bar  as  proof 
of  the  justness  of  our  condemnation.  We 
must  take  "heed  how  we  hear"  and  "what  we 
hear,"  and,  hearing,  heed.  God's  Word 
warns  us  concerning  some  who  "received  not 
the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved. 
And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong 
delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie;  that 
they  all  might  be  damned  who  believe  not  the 
truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness" 
(2  Thess.  ii,  10-12).  Let  us  beseech  God  to 
show  us  ourselves  as  we  are,  that  we  may 
properly  realize  our  need. 

Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  This  decline 
in  our  membership  is  not  an  accident.  It 
comes  from  a  sufficient  cause.  That  cause  is 
the  slipping  cog  in  our  experience,  our  lack  of 
spiritual  power. 

540 


the  seal  of  the  covenant 

Spiritual  Famine  in  the  Church,  and  Its 
Symptoms. 

The  heroes  who  starved  in  the  old  prison 
pens  had  many  signs  of  their  famine.  They 
became  thin,  raw-boned,  stoop-shouldered, 
hollow-chested,  and  hollow-eyed.  Their 
joints  were  stifT,  their  bones  ached,  and  their 
muscles  were  sore.  They  lost  all  the  signs  of 
youth.  These  were  not  distinct  disease.  They 
were  only  symptoms  of  one  awful  disease — 
famine.  Suitable  and  sufficient  food  would 
drive  away  this  horrible  brood  of  ailments  and 
restore  youth  with  its  beauty  and  power.  So 
it  may  be  in  our  Church  life.  We  have  one 
dire  disease — spiritual  famine — lack  of  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit,  lack  of  personal  experi- 
ence, lack  of  spiritual  power.  And  the  symp- 
toms are  many  and  varied,  but  the  disease  is 
one.  We  will  only  enumerate  some  of  the 
symptoms. 

The  gulf  between  capital  and  labor  threat- 
ens us  on  both  sides.  On  one  side,  ''not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called."  On  the 
other,  strange  forces  are  alienating  the  poor. 
The  labor  unions,  organized  most  compactly, 
are  much  influenced  by  men  hostile  to  the 
Church.     Their  gatherings  are  generally  on 

541 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

the  Sabbath,  thus  keeping  the  men  out  of  our 
reach. 

The  submerged  tenth  has  been  allowed  to 
pass  out  to  other  agencies.  We  seem  in  some 
places  above  our  business. 

One  border  of  this  Church  has  been  frayed 
out  by  the  thin  speculations  and  vagaries  of 
Christian  Science. 

The  powerful  camp-meetings  of  our  fa- 
thers have  been  superseded  in  many  localities. 

The  literature  found  in  our  homes  is  too 
often  too  light  to  nourish  strong  religious 
characters.  Books  that  furnish  the  compan- 
ions for  our  youth  are  not  selected  with  the 
same  care  with  which  we  choose  their  friends. 

Amusements  are  sought  after  as  if  they 
were  a  necessity.  Like  little  children,  people 
of  all  ages  think  they  must  be  amused. 

The  moral  and  spiritual  forces  of  the 
Church,  necessary  for  the  building  of  great 
and  Christlike  characters,  seem  to  be  side- 
tracked. In  many  places  the  spirit  of  the 
world  is  dominant,  instead  of  '^the  spirit 
which  is  of  God."  With  some  of  our  people 
the  services  of  God's  house  receive  attention 
when  it  is  convenient.  Inclination  is  toward 
society  and  its  enticements.  Self-denial  is  not 
always  practiced. 

542 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

The  searching  of  the  heart,  that  must  pre- 
cede every  great  work  of  revival,  is  often 
avoided  as  the  fanaticism  of  a  past  age.  Re- 
vivals, studied  only  in  their  most  ridiculous 
phases,  are  sometimes  ridiculed  as  the  ephem- 
eral phenomena  of  shallow  natures.  Thus 
some  of  our  Churches  are  contented  to  nurse 
their  dignified  uniformity  and  neutrality,  and 
so  fail  in  their  saving  work. 

In  some  sections  criticism  is  extended  to 
everything  sacred.  The  preaching  and  the 
preacher  are  handled  in  the  home  circle  with 
severity.  The  family  is  trained  to  regard  the 
services  of  the  sanctuary  as  common  and  rou- 
tine. Our  children  are  robbed  of  their  respect 
for  the  Church,  and  the  Church  is  robbed  of 
their  presence. 

Higher  criticism  attacks  the  Bible  itself, 
denying  its  supernatural  character  and  divine 
authority.  While  this  higher  criticism  is  lim- 
ited to  a  few  centers,  yet  its  influence  is  filtered 
down  through  much  of  our  literature,  taking 
the  authority  out  of  the  teaching  and  the 
power  out  of  the  preaching.  The  Bible  loses 
its  divine  authority.  Sin  loses  its  fatal  sting. 
The  law  loses  its  sanction,  and  God's  govern- 
ment is  reduced  to  a  few  rules  concerning 
esthetics. 

543 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

These  are  among  the  principal  symptoms 
indicating  the  famine  that  enervates  our  Zion. 
We  are  retreating,  when  we  should  advance  at 
double-quick  to  keep  abreast  of  the  rushing 
events  of  our  time.  The  trouble  is  in  the  slip- 
ping cog  in  our  experience,  our  lack  of  power. 
The  old  heroes  who  fought  Calvinism  with  a 
short  sword,  and  scattered  the  forces  of  ridi- 
cule and  social  contempt  with  a  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord,"  would  have  coveted  a  contest  with 
these  little  difficulties. 

Methodism  Must  Not  Turn  Back. 

With  this  feebleness  upon  us  we  are  con- 
fronting a  crisis.  Asia  is  open  to  us.  The  am- 
bitions of  the  great  Powers  and  the  demands 
for  markets  wide  as  the  world  may  master  and 
overlay  with  "circles  of  influence"  all  heathen 
territory  in  the  next  few  decades.  Our 
Methodism  can  not  turn  back.  No  matter 
how  much  we  may  covet  the  more  quiet 
policy,  the  die  is  cast.  God  is  asking  Metho- 
dism, "Will  you  see  and  seize  your  day  of 
opportunity?"  The  Greek  Church  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  and  the  Lutheran 
Church  and  the  Church  of  England  have 
great  histories,  and  have  served  in  the  devel- 

544 


THE  SEAL  OE  THE  COVENANT 

opment  of  Christ's  kingdom,  but  we  do  not 
look  to  them  for  the  evangelization  and  spir- 
itual quickening  of  the  world.  In  the  ma- 
turing of  Christian  life  we  have  reached  a 
point  where  weighty  responsibilities  rest  upon 
the  Protestantism  of  America.  Methodism, 
born  with  the  republic  and  strengthened  with 
the  nation,  can  not  now  break  step.  She  is 
forced,  with  the  discipline  of  a  century  and  a 
quarter,  to  march  with  the  nation's  flag  and 
the  nation's  commerce.  Whatever  be  the  duty 
of  the  nation,  our  duty  at  least  is  clear  to  enter 
every  open  door.  We  are  in  a  crisis.  We 
must  carry  the  gospel  into  these  old  lands  and 
new  fields.  Are  we  ready?  Is  our  spiritual 
life  up  to  the  requirement?  Are  we  keeping 
our  spiritual  life  so  strong  and  pure  that  it 
can  safely  and  successfully  inoculate  these 
great  heathen  empires?  We  seem  to  hesitate 
on  the  thresholds.  May  God  give  us  courage 
and  consecration  and  sacrifice  and  heroic 
leadership!  This  work  must  be  done  by  this 
generation.  Soon  these  empires  will  be  pre- 
empted. These  empires  are  vast  forts;  the 
forms  of  Christianity  first  in  will  have  do- 
minion. In  the  next  generation  it  will  be  too 
late  for  us. 

35  545 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

The  Appeal  is  to  God  for  Help. 

In  the  presence  of  these  symptoms  and  our 
underlying  spiritual  famine,  and  in  this  stu- 
pendous crisis,  our  appeal  is  to  God.  He  is 
able  to  speak  us  into  life  and  restore  our  vigor, 
and  restore  His  great  salvation  unto  us  as  a 
people.  The  Church  is  the  Lamb's  Bride,  and 
He  is  ever  anxious  to  bestow  upon  her  every 
good  gift.  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  dark  days 
of  the  Civil  War,  said,  "The  way  to  get  God 
on  our  side  is  to  get  on  His  side."  This  law 
holds  forever  over  the  Church. 

Brothers  in  the  ministry,  the  situation 
presses  us  to  our  closets  and  down  onto  our 
knees.  The  people  are  what  we  inspire  and 
lead  them  to  be.  We  are  called  of  God, 
anointed  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  set  apart  by 
the  Church  to  be  the  leaders  in  spiritual 
things.  Our  lives  type  the  lives  of  the  laity. 
If  we  are  anxious  about  personal  ends,  about 
place  or  salary  or  grade,  so  as  to  do  less  than 
our  best  spiritually,  the  membership  will  sink 
to  lower  levels  and  become  worldly.  If  we 
have  not  a  passion  for  souls,  our  people  will 
not  agonize  between  the  porch  and  the  altar. 
In  the  beginning  of  our  Church  life  the  min- 

546 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

isters  went  out  into  unoccupied  fields  and  cre- 
ated a  society,  and  found  a  preaching  place  as 
best  they  could.  The  preacher  embodied  the 
society.  His  word  was  law,  his  authority 
was  the  Bible  and  his  divine  commission.  If 
men  attached  themselves  to  his  society,  it  was 
to  accept  his  teaching.  His  lot  seemed  hard 
and  full  of  trials,  but  sorer  trials  have  come 
to  us  in  these  days.  Large  churches  and  fine 
parsonages  and  welcoming  societies  await  our 
coming,  and  we  are  spared  many  of  the  old 
cares  and  anxieties.  But  with  these  great  ap- 
pointments have  come  great  influences  to 
modify  our  work.  We  still  hold  our  first  ac- 
countability to  God,  but  we  are  unconsciously 
pressed  with  a  secondary  instrumental  ac- 
countability to  the  pews.  The  free  lance  of 
the  itinerant  is  in  danger  of  being  lowered  a 
little.  We  need  more  grace,  more  prayer, 
more  courage,  and  more  of  the  spirit  of  the 
martyrs  than  our  fathers  had,  to  walk  in  their 
exalted  and  kingly  way  among  men.  We 
have  mightier  agencies  within  our  reach, 
mightier  weapons  to  wield,  and  wider  fields 
open  to  us  than  they  had,  and  our  responsi- 
bilities are  measured  by  our  opportunities. 
There  never  was  a  time  when  we  had  such 

547 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

severe  criticisms,  such  intense  competition, 
such  multiplied  forms  of  activity  as  at  present. 
The  ages  are  rolled  together  at  our  feet,  and 
the  tide  of  events,  freighted  with  destiny,  is 
rushing  by  us.  To  be  ministers  for  this  age, 
we  must  be  princes  in  Israel,  prevailing  in 
prayer,  conspicuous  in  spiritual  power,  and 
ubiquitous  in  holy  activities. 

Brothers,  in  a  critical  time  like  this  we 
must  plant  ourselves  in  the  breach  and  call  our 
Churches  up  about  us.  Our  waving  white 
plumes  must  indicate  where  our  people  can 
find  the  front. 


The  Church  Must  Cultivate  Faith. 

We  must  cultivate  faith  as  recruits  culti- 
vate courage.  The  recruit,  by  forced  fighting 
and  frequent  exposures,  acquires  indifference 
to  peril.  So  we  must  cast  ourselves  upon  the 
sword  of  promise  till  we  acquire  the  habit  of 
victory  and  the  habit  of  assurance.  The 
Spartan  mothers  inspired  their  sons  with 
heroism  by  making  them  familiar  with  the 
achievements  of  their  heroes.  We  can  kindle 
the  spirit  of  faith  in  ourselves  and  in  our  peo- 
ple by  keeping  ourselves  and  them  familiar 
with  the  lives  and  victories  of  our  spiritual 

548 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

heroes.  We  must  have  less  skeptical  inuen- 
does  in  our  literature  and  less  vagueness  and 
uncertainty  in  our  pulpits,  and  more  of  the 
triumphs  of  the  saints  and  greater  familiarity 
with  the  promises. 

The  Church  is  questioning  about  our  re- 
treat. We  must  answer  with  the  bugle  call 
to  the  front.  We  must  lead  to  the  experience 
of  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit.  We  must  emphasize  the  old  and  es- 
sential doctrines  of  the  Bible.  We  must  ex- 
hibit sin  as  the  one  thing  which  God  hates, 
which  overwhelms  the  unrepentant  sinner  in 
irretrievable  ruin,  against  which  the  ocean  of 
God's  wrath  flows  forever  like  a  shoreless  sea 
of  fire,  from  which  there  is  but  one  escape, 
and  that  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Men 
must  be  made  to  feel  that  they  are  lost  and 
need  salvation.  They  must  be  made  to  con- 
front the  judgment  bar  of  Almighty  God. 
They  must  know  that  a  pardoning  Savior  is 
only  for  penitent  sinners.  The  old  gospel  that 
has  made  its  way  through  all  the  brutality  of 
heathenism  and  through  all  the  conceit  and 
pride  of  skeptical  philosophy  for  nineteen  cen- 
turies, has  not  lost  its  power.    Give  it  a  chance. 

The  false  prophets  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah, 
who  prophesied  ^'peace,  when  there  was  no 

549 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

peace/'  though  pleasing  to  the  king  and 
princes  in  Jerusalem,  did  not  save  Jerusalem 
from  the  armies  of  Babylon,  nor  the  king  and 
his  princes  from  slaughter.  The  false  gospel 
of  our  times,  which  denies  the  malignity  of 
sin,  abolishes  the  terror  of  hell,  and  neutralizes 
the  work  of  the  Savior  as  unnecessary  in  set- 
tling human  destiny,  will  prove  helpless  in  the 
path  of  retribution,  and  leave  its  votaries  and 
disciples  without  escape  and  without  hope. 


The  Responsibility  of  the  Laity. 

Dear  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  laity,  you 
are  now  very  largely  and  increasingly  the 
Church;  you  have  increased  responsibility. 
We  are  all  co-workers  with  Christ.  For  this 
work  we  all  greatly  need  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  witness  of  the  Spirit  testifying  to 
our  adoption  into  the  heavenly  family.  We 
bear  the  name,  wear  the  uniform,  and  carry 
the  burdens  of  Methodism.  It  is  our  privi- 
lege to  have  her  joy  and  assurance  and  con- 
quering power.  If  we  are  not  as  useful  as 
we  wish  we  were,  let  us  go  into  our  closets  of 
prayer  and  settle  at  once  on  whose  side  we 
are.  Ask  ourselves.  Do  we  enjoy  religion? 
People  who  have  it,  do. 

550 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

Brothers,  as  you  pay  the  bills  with  hard- 
earned  money,  we  ask  you  not  to  be  content 
with  less  than  the  best  of  the  wine.  It  is  im- 
portant to  have  a  popular  preacher  with  whom 
the  Church  will  seem  to  run  easily.  But  it 
is  also  more  and  supremely  important  to  have 
a  preacher  who  will  give  the  pure  gospel,  in- 
structing in  spiritual  things.  Let  us  insist  on 
being  instructed  in  the  work  of  God  and  in 
the  plans  and  campaigns  of  the  Church.  Let 
us  insist  on  being  taught  the  art  and  practice 
of  usefulness,  of  showing  the  power  of  grace, 
of  teaching  the  beauty  of  this  new  life,  and  of 
soul-saving.  True  success  turns  on  the  spir- 
itual life  of  both  preacher  and  people. 

The  Priesthood  of  Believers. 

The  next  great  truth  of  Methodism  after 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  is  the  priesthood  of 
believers.  Great  laymen  are  great  in  business 
life,  and  also  in  prayer,  in  testimony,  and  in 
good  works.  As  your  chief  pastors,  we  feel 
that  we  are  rich  in  the  material  out  of  which 
great  laymen  are  made.  We  appreciate  your 
liberality;  we  are  mindful  of  your  abilities. 
But  we  feel  that  we  and  you  are  neglecting 
our  richest  resources  in  your  undeveloped  and 

551 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

unmeasured  capabilities  for  individual  Chris- 
tian work.  Let  us  obtain  and  keep  constantly 
the  joy  of  the  indwelling  and  witnessing 
Spirit.  Then  love  of  the  great  truths  and  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible  will  make  it  difficult  for 
any  one  to  waste  the  too  few  hours  of  pulpit 
instruction  with  little,  trifling  themes  of  the 
passing  hour.  Let  us  insist  on  a  vigorous  diet 
in  the  presentation  of  the  great  truths  for 
which  heroic  souls  in  every  age  have  been 
willing  to  die.  This  is  the  diet  on  which  stal- 
wart characters  are  nourished  and  on  which 
martyrs  are  matured.  It  will  give  a  good, 
strong  measurement  to  start  with  in  the  world 
to  come.  It  will  secure  eminence  in  heaven. 
If  you  are  receiving  a  mess  of  pottage  for 
your  birthright,  the  fault  is  your  own.  It  is 
for  us  all  to  remember  that,  when  the  grass- 
hopper is  a  burden  in  Church  life  and  duty, 
then  spiritual  famine  approaches  a  crisis.  In 
our  retreat  in  our  statistics  we  must  see  danger 
signals. 

It  is  our  hope  in  such  a  time  as  this  that 
we  have  a  God  who  can  do  things.  He  is  a 
covenant-making  and  a  covenant-keeping 
God.  He  has  a  record  of  prayer-answering 
running  through  all  the  history  of  man. 
When  we  seek  Him  with  all  our  heart  He  is 

552 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

found  of  us.  He  is  anxious  to  bless  the 
Church,  Nevertheless,  He  will  be  inquired 
of  by  the  House  of  Israel  to  do  this  thing  for 
them. 

Conquest  by  Self-Sacrifice. 

In  this  contest  we  conquer  by  dying. 
When  we  are  willing  to  lose  our  lives,  then 
we  save  them.  Jeremiah  was  brought  before 
the  princes  of  Jerusalem  for  declaring  that  the 
city  would  certainly  be  destroyed,  and  the 
priests  said:  ''This  man  is  worthy  to  die;  for 
he  hath  prophesied  against  this  city."  But 
Jeremiah  said:  ''Amend  your  ways  and  your 
doings,  and  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  your 
God;  and  the  Lord  will  repent  Him  of  the 
evil  that  He  hath  pronounced  against  you. 
As  for  me,  behold,  I  am  in  your  hand;  do 
with  me  as  seemeth  good  and  meet  unto  you/' 
As  God's  prophets  we  must  declare  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  whether  men  will  hear  or 
whether  they  will  forbear.  Like  Jeremiah, 
we  are  in  the  hands  of  the  princes.  Let  them 
do  what  seemeth  good  and  meet  unto  them. 
But  our  accountability  is  unto  God.  When 
we  count  ourselves  out  and  the  success  of  His 
cause  in,  we  always  win.  When  with  the 
nervous  hands  of  sacrifice  we  reach  up  in  the 

553 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

darkness,  take  hold  of  His  promises,  and  hang 
there,  letting  the  world  spin  round  beneath  us 
unheeded,  willing  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  the 
triumph  of  His  cause,  then  we  always  prevail. 
That  Greek  mother  from  Syro-Phoenicia 
overcame  all  obstacles.  Her  daughter  was 
vexed  with  a  devil,  and  she  cried  unto  Jesus, 
^'Have  mercy  on  me/'  Her  daughter's  cause 
was  her  cause.  Jesus  walked  away  from  her, 
not  heeding  her  cry.  Even  the  disciples  in- 
terceded for  her.  Then  her  courage  came  up. 
Jesus  rebuked  them,  saying:  "I  am  not  sent 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel." 
The  very  purpose  under  His  coming  was 
against  her,  a  heathen  woman.  But,  mother- 
like, she  must  save  her  daughter,  law  or  no 
law,  in  spite  of  everything.  So  she  came  and 
worshiped  Him,  saying,  ''Lord,  help  me/' 
Strangest  words  ever  found  on  Jesus'  lips! 
He  said  to  her,  as  she  knelt  before  Him:  'Tt 
is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread,  and 
to  cast  it  to  dogs."  This  was  so  different  from 
all  that  had  been  told  her  of  Jesus.  He  had 
never  before  refused  one  pleading  sufferer. 
Yet  she  must  save  her  daughter,  and  said,  as 
she  fell  at  His  feet:  'Truth,  Lord:  yet  the 
dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their 

554 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

master's  table."  Then  Jesus  said  to  her:  "O 
woman,  great  is  thy  faith :  be  it  unto  thee  even 
as  thou  wilt."  And  her  daughter  was  made 
whole  from  that  very  hour.  Brothers,  on  our 
faces  before  God,  confessing  our  own  un- 
worthiness,  willing  to  be  dogs  if  need  be,  that 
some  of  the  crumbs  of  His  infinite  table  may 
come  to  us,  we  shall  certainly  be  heard  for  His 
Church,  His  bride,  and  we  shall  see  her 
clothed  in  beauty  and  reigning  in  power.  He 
will  rebuke  the  adversary  and  make  us  a  holy 
and  conquering  people. 

Jesus  came  down  from  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  where  He  had  talked  with 
Moses  and  Elias  concerning  the  world's  re- 
demption, to  find  His  chosen  disciples,  the 
instruments  with  whom  He  was  to  save  the 
world,  defeated,  powerless  in  the  presence  of 
one  devil.  The  poor  father  whose  son  was 
tormented  came  kneeling  to  Jesus,  saying: 
"Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son;  for  he  is 
.  .  .  sore  vexed.  ...  I  brought  him 
to  Thy  disciples,  and  they  could  not  cure 
him."  Jesus  said:  '^Bring  him  hither  to  Me." 
And  Jesus  rebuked  the  devil,  and  the  child 
was  cured  from  that  very  hour.  Like  this  poor 
father,  if  the  disciples  fail  us,  let  us  go  di- 

555 


ADDRESSES  ON  NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

rectly  to  Jesus.  Every  man  for  himself  secur- 
ing the  seal  of  the  covenant,  and  we  shall  have 
a  healed  and  holy  and  conquering  Church. 

We  Must  Betake  Ourselves  to  Prayer. 

Jesus  says:  "If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My 
words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will, 
and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you"  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth  on 
Me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also ;  and 
greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do."  "And 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name,  that 
will  I  do."  "If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My 
name,  I  will  do  it."  In  one  of  the  fishing 
seaports  of  New  England  the  inhabitants 
gathered  on  the  beach  just  at  sundown  to  see 
a  whaling  vessel  in  the  offing  come  in  from  her 
long  three  years'  voyage.  But  an  adverse 
wind  sprang  up  and  beat  back  the  tacking 
craft.  The  wind  was  soon  a  gale,  and  as  the 
night  shut  down  it  seemed  impossible  for  the 
vessel  to  long  survive.  The  anxious  friends 
walked  the  beach  and  waited.  But  one  poor 
woman,  a  widow,  whose  only  son  was  on  that 
craft,  went  away  to  her  lonely  cabin,  and  there 
on  her  knees  she  poured  out  her  soul  to  God. 
She  laid  hold  upon  Him  by  faith,  urging  His 

556 


THE  SEAL  OF  THE  COVENANT 

promises.  All  that  terrible  night  she  wrestled 
with  God,  and  would  not  let  Him  go.  Just  at 
dawn  her  cabin  door  flew  open,  and  in 
bounded  a  stout  young  man,  who  caught  her 
up  in  his  arms,  saying:  ^'Mother,  I  knew  you 
would  pray  me  ashore."  Dearly  beloved,  in 
this  troubled  time,  when  the  ship  which  con- 
tains all  that  is  valuable  to  the  race,  all  that 
makes  the  race  valuable,  is  being  beaten  about 
and  driven  toward  the  breakers,  we  must  par- 
take ourselves  to  prayer,  and  plead  the  prom- 
ises, and  lay  hold  on  God,  crying:  "We  will 
not  let  Thee  go  unless  Thou  bless  us."  Then 
God  will  certainly  bless  us.  We  shall  have 
power  with  men  and  with  God,  and  shall  pre- 
vail. And  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath 
called  us  unto  His  eternal  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus,  will  make  us  perfect,  stablish, 
strengthen,  and  settle  us. 

Brothers,  when  we  count  ourselves  as  noth- 
ing, as  dead,  if  need  be,  and  cry  unto  God  for 
Israel,  we  are  always  heard  and  answered. 
Our  Methodism,  by  her  history,  by  her  expe- 
riences, by  her  doctrine,  and  by  her  past  con- 
quests, stands  as  a  representative  of  supernat- 
ural power  to  save  the  lost.  It  is  in  the  world 
as  a  convicting  power.  It  means  for  the  sin- 
ner repentance,  faith,  salvation,  and  a  new  life. 

557 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

It  means  that  God  can  save  the  worst,  that 
He  can  take  the  poorest  human  material  and 
make  it  over  into  good  men,  new  saints — ulti- 
mately into  angels.  It  must  not  be  found  at 
our  doors  that  we  let  this  Church  die  in  our 
hands,  and  let  supernatural  power  depart  from 
our  altars ;  that  we  let  sinners  cease  to  fear  our 
gospel,  and  allow  them  to  sport  with  us  as 
with  their  own  yoke-fellows,  or  laugh  at  us 
as  at  straw  men.  We  must  not  be  found  dead 
on  the  highway,  with  a  card  pinned  onto  our 
bodies  bearing  the  fingermarks  of  Satan,  say- 
ing: ''This  man  quenched  the  fire  on  the  altars 
of  Wesley  and  Asbury."  O  Lord,  only  if 
Thou  wilt  forgive  our  sins,  wx  are  in  Thy 
hand.  Do  with  us  whatever  seemeth  good 
and  meet  to  Thee. 

The  Week  of  Fasting  and  Prayer, 
March  25TH  to  April  ist. 

Dear  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  Church, 
we  ask  you  to  set  apart  the  days  from  March 
25th  to  April  ist,  inclusive,  as  a  season  of  fast- 
ing or  abstinence  and  prayer.  We  ask  you  to 
assemble  yourselves  in  your  accustomed  places 
of  worship  at  least  once  each  day,  humble 
yourselves   before   God,   worship    Him,   per- 

558 


THE  SEAL  OE  THE  COVENANT 

sonally  lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  easily 
besetting  sin,  and  make  earnest  supplication  to 
Him.  We  ask,  also,  that  in  your  private  and 
family  prayers  you  will  daily  implore  God's 
mercy  for  the  revival  of  His  work  of  grace 
in  each  heart  and  throughout  all  our  borders. 
Let  us  implore  God  for  help  that  a  family 
altar  may  be  established  in  each  Methodist 
home,  where  the  Scriptures  may  be  daily  read 
and  His  blessing  secured  in  rearing  our  chil- 
dren on  His  Word  for  Him,  and  also  that  in 
the  time  of  our  thank-offering  we  may  bring 
to  His  altars  at  least  two  million  penitent 
seekers  who  shall  find  peace  and  security  in 
His  Church. 


559 


DEDICATORY    PRAYER    AT    OPEN 
ING  OF  COLUMBIAN  EXPO- 
SITION 


Delivered    at   the  invitation   of   the   Commission   of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  at  the  dedicatory  ceremonies 
held  in  Chicago,  on   Friday,  October  21,  1892. 
About  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand 
persons    were    present  in    the    Manu- 
facturers' and  Liberal  Arts'  Build- 
ing, where    the    ceremonies 
were  held. 


36  561 


DEDICATORY    PRAYER    AT    OPEN- 
ING OF  COLUMBIAN  EXPO- 
SITION 

Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father, 
Thou  art  the  one  only  true  God,  eternal,  im- 
mortal, invisible,  blessed  over  all  for  ever- 
more. We  come  before  Thee  to  w^orship 
Thee,  to  render  unto  Thee  thanksgiving,  to 
confess  our  helplessness,  and  to  invoke  Thy 
blessing  upon  us.  Thou  art  God.  Thou  hast 
created  all  things.  Thou  hast  made  the  world 
and  all  things  therein.  Thou  art  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth.  Thou  hast  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on  all 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the 
times  before  appointed  and  the  bounds  of 
their  habitation.  As  a  people  whom  Thou 
hast  exalted,  we  worship  Thee.  Before  the 
majesty  of  Thy  power,  and  the  all-consuming 
glory  of  Thy  presence,  angels  and  arch-angels 
veil  their  faces.  Thrones  and  dominions  and 
principalities  and  powers  prostrate  them- 
selves. Yet  we,  the  members  of  a  fallen  race, 
children  of  a  wayward  family,  urged  by  our 

563 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

dire  necessities,  encouraged  by  Thine  un- 
breakable promises,  emboldened  by  Thine  in- 
finite love,  inspired  by  Thy  life-giving  Spirit, 
and  sheltered  by  the  all-sufficient  atonement, 
press  our  way  up  to  the  very  steps  of  Thy 
throne  and  worship  Thee,  because  Thou  hast 
told  us  that  in  spite  of  our  littleness  and  in 
spite  of  our  sinfulness  we  may  come,  in  the 
way  Thou  hast  appointed,  with  boldness,  even 
to  the  mercy-seat. 

Thou  hast  that  supreme  power  which  is  in- 
capable of  wearying,  and  that  supreme  wis- 
dom which  is  incapable  of  blundering,  and 
that  supreme  love  which  is  incapable  of  up- 
braiding, and  we  come  unto  Thee,  asking  that 
Thou  wilt  strengthen  us  in  our  weakness, 
guide  us  in  our  blindness,  teach  us  in  our  ig- 
norance, father  us  in  our  orphanage,  pity  us 
in  our  penitence  ,and  save  us  in  our  faith,  and 
so  help  us  that  we  may  acceptably  worship 
Thee.  We  bless  Thee,  we  praise  Thee,  we 
laud  and  magnify  Thy  Holy  Name. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  overflowing  good- 
ness which  Thou  hast  manifested  to  us,  ex- 
ceeding abundant  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or 
think. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  revelation  of  Thy- 
self in  Thy  Son  to  take  away  all  sin,  in  Thy 

564 


PRAYER  AT  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 

Spirit  to  quicken  every  virtue,  in  Thy  Word 
to  dispel  every  superstition,  in  Thy  Provi- 
dence to  protect  from  every  peril. 

We  thank  Thee  especially  for  Thy  favor- 
ing Providence,  which  has  ordered  the  un- 
folding of  our  history  as  a  people  and  the 
shaping  of  our  destiny  as  a  nation.  Thou 
didst  keep  this  New  World  in  the  thick  clouds 
that  surround  Thy  purposes  and  didst  reserve 
it  for  the  high  honors  of  Thy  maturing  king- 
dom. In  the  fullness  of  time,  Thou  didst 
bring  it  to  the  knowledge  of  men  by  Thy  wis- 
dom and  prowess  and  faith  of  Thy  servant 
Columbus.  Thou  didst  so  inspire  his  mind 
and  direct  his  thought  by  signs  on  the  surface 
of  the  sea  and  by  the  flight  of  birds  through 
the  depth  of  the  air  that  the  southern  continent 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere  was  open  to 
Southern  Europe,  and  this  northern  continent 
was  preserved  for  another  people  and  another 
destiny.  Thus  Thou  didst  launch  upon  the 
tide  of  history  in  the  two  continents  of  the 
New  World  tw^o  new  and  great  and  mutually 
helpful  nations.  We  thank  Thee  for  Thy 
favoring  Providence. 

Thou  didst  speak  to  our  fathers,  heroic  and 
great  men,  men  of  prayer  and  of  power,  and 
bid  them  come  to  this  open  land   and  plant 

565 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

here  in  the  wilderness  great  institutions  for 
the  elevation  of  the  race,  to  consecrate  these 
vast  valleys  and  endless  plains  to  freedom,  to 
free  ideas  and  free  conscience,  to  the  sanctity 
of  the  private  home  and  the  inalienability  of 
individual  rights.  We  thank  Thee  for  the 
glorious  history  we  have  inherited;  for  Crecy, 
for  Smithfield,  and  for  Marston  Moor,  for 
Lexington  and  Fort  Sumter,  for  Yorktown 
and  Appomattox,  these  throbbing  achieve- 
ments of  our  patriotism.  We  thank  Thee  for 
Washington  and  Lincoln,  for  Webster  and 
Clay,  for  Jefferson  and  Jackson,  and  for  Grant 
— these  beacon  lights  of  the  Republic. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  mighty  hosts  of  the 
heroic  dead  and  for  the  priceless  lessons  they 
have  taught  us  in  patriotism,  in  valor,  in  states- 
manship, and  in  sacrifice.  We  thank  Thee 
for  sixty  millions  of  free,  heroic,  patriotic  citi- 
zens; for  the  open  Bible,  the  open  school,  and 
the  open  church;  for  unprecedented  growth, 
abundant  prosperity,  multiplied  inventions, 
unnumbered  libraries,  countless  newspapers, 
many  colleges,  great  universities,  ubiquitous 
benevolences,  universal  peace,  uninterrupted 
happiness,  and  untarnished  honor.  We  thank 
Thee  for  emancipated  manhood  and  exalted 
womanhood. 

566 


PRAYER  AT  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 

We  thank  Thee  for  a  free  conscience,  by 
a  free  Church,  in  a  free  State,  for  a  free  peo- 
ple. For  these  precious  and  priceless  bless- 
ings that  make  life  valuable  and  kindle 
quenchless  hopes  for  this  world  and  for  the 
world  to  come,  we  thank  Thee. 

Now,  O  Lord,  our  God,  grateful  for 
America,  with  her  great  republics  and  civil 
governments  and  free  institutions,  we  ask  Thy 
continued  blessings  upon  us.  Bless  this  na- 
tion, so  heavily  freighted  with  benedictions 
for  mankind. 

Bless  the  President  of  the  United  States  in 
his  high  official  character.  Hear  us  while  we 
tarry  to  pray  Thy  blessing  on  his  family  in 
the  stress  of  this  hour.  While  the  warm  sym- 
pathies of  the  nation  are  poured  into  this  our 
foremost  and  representative  home,  may  the 
comfort  of  Thy  grace  abound  in  that  Chris- 
tian family,  and  may  Thy  tender  care  preserve 
it  unbroken  for  an  example  for  many  years  to 
come. 

Bless  the  Secretaries,  the  President's  con- 
stitutional advisers,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  Senators  and  Congressmen  of  the 
United  States,  the  Governors  of  the  several 
commonwealths,  and  all  in  official  and  respon- 
sible places. 

567 


ADDRESSES    ON    NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Bless  the  officers  of  the  army  and  of  the 
navy,  and  the  men  who  stand  for  the  defense 
of  our  flag. 

We  pray  Thee  to  bless  the  women  of 
America.  Favored  above  their  sisters  in  all 
the  world  with  open  doors  to  varied  activities, 
w^ith  honorable  recognition  in  the  responsibil- 
ities of  life  and  of  character,  and  with  large 
room  in  society  for  the  use  and  development 
of  their  gifts  and  acquirements  and  abilities, 
may  they  show  to  all  the  women  of  the  world 
the  true  dignity  and  glory  of  Christian  wom- 
anhood. 

We  pray  Thee  to  bless  the  great  body  of 
our  citizens,  that  they  may  improve  and  per- 
petuate their  patrimony. 

Bless  the  honorable  and  learned  profes- 
sions in  our  land,  that  we  may  have  wise  laws, 
just  administrations,  efficient  remedies,  be- 
nign faiths,  and  helpful  sciences. 

Bless  the  great  body  of  the  wage-earners, 
and  may  labor  and  capital  meet,  mingle,  and 
thrive  together  on  the  basis  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Bless  all  the  people  from  every  land  that 
flow  into  our  population,  that  all,  of  every 
clime  and  color  and  race,  may  enjoy  the  bless- 
ings of  righteousness  and  justice  and  protec- 

568 


PRAYER  AT  COLUxVIHIAN  EXPOSITION 

tion  and  security  under  our  flag  and  on  every 
yard  of  our  soil. 

Bless  us  as  a  people  with  enlarging  intelli- 
gence and  widening  charities  and  every  im- 
proving health  and  abounding  liberality. 
Sanctify  our  homes,  multiply  our  children, 
and  continue  our  prosperity.  Above  all 
things,  make  us  eminent  for  righteousness,  a 
nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord. 

We  pray  Thee  to  bless  the  President  and 
General  Manager  of  this  Exposition,  and 
these  commissioners,  and  the  men  and  women 
who  have  toiled  amid  many  anxieties  and  un- 
certainties for  so  many  months  to  crown  this 
undertaking  with  success.  May  they  have 
such  wisdom  and  help  from  Thee  for  their 
difficult  and  delicate  duties  that  they  may  de- 
serve and  receive  the  grateful  remembrance 
of  their  fellow-citizens. 

We  invoke  Thy  choicest  blessings  upon  our 
guests,  upon  those  who  come  hither  from  dis- 
tant lands  and  climes  to  unite  with  us  in  this 
great  enterprise,  whether  they  come  from  the 
rulers  of  the  earth  that  they  may  see  and  re- 
port what  is  doing  in  these  ends  of  the  world, 
or  to  represent  the  arts  that  have  matured 
through  the  ages,  or  to  set  forth  the  triumphs 
of    genius,    the    mechanical    and    industrial 

569 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

achievements  that  are  enriching  our  times,  we 
pray  Thee  to  bless  them  and  keep  them  in 
health  and  safety  while  they  are  in  our  midst. 
Keep  their  families  and  interests  in  their  dis- 
tant homes  in  peace  and  prosperity.  May 
their  return  to  their  homes  be  in  safety  and 
comfort,  carrying  with  them  many  kindly 
memories  of  this  land  and  of  this  city. 

Bless,  we  pray  Thee,  the  great  nations  they 
represent.  Bless  the  great  Republic  of 
France,  that  rising  sun  of  liberty  on  the  shores 
of  Europe.  Bless  the  Republic  of  Switzer- 
land, and  the  republics  of  South  America,  and 
the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  the  republics  of 
Central  America.  May  the  torches  they  hold 
up  in  the  world  never  go  out  or  burn  dimly. 

Bless  the  free  government  of  Great  Britain 
with  her  many  and  vast  dependencies.  Bless 
the  lands  of  Scandinavia  with  their  heroic 
sons  and  daughters.  Bless  the  Empire  of  Ger- 
many with  its  advancing  millions. 

Bless  Italy,  the  cradle  of  Columbus,  with 
her  history  and  her  hopes.  Bless  genial  and 
sunny  Spain,  the  land  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella, the  helpers  of  Columbus. 

Bless  Russia,  the  steady  and  fearless  friend 
of  the  United  States,  with  her  millions  of  sub- 

570 


PRAYER  AT  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 

jects  and  of  acres  and  of  wants.  Bless  Austria. 
Bless  China,  populous  China  and  India,  and 
Japan  and  Corea,  and  Turkey  and  Africa,  and 
all  the  nations  of  theearth,whatever  their  form 
of  government  or  type  of  religion.  JVIay  the 
truths  they  hold  be  nourished.  May  the  light 
they  have  received  grow  brighter  and  brighter 
to  the  perfect  day.  May  the  liberties  they 
have  reached  be  perpetuated  and  multiplied 
till  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  freed 
from  error,  from  superstition,  and  from  op- 
pression, and  shall  enjoy  the  blessing  of  right- 
eousness, of  liberty,  of  equality,  and  of  brother- 
hood, with  Thy  perpetual  favor. 

We  pray  Thy  blessing  upon  America  in 
an  especial  manner,  according  to  her  respon- 
sibilities. May  she  come  up  to  the  high  char- 
acter Thou  requirest  of  her.  May  she  accom- 
plish the  exalted  work  of  helping  to  draw  the 
nations  of  the  earth  into  a  close  and  friendly 
brotherhood  that  shall  practice  the  arts  of 
peace  and  go  forth  to  war  no  more  forever. 
May  our  Republic  grow  stronger  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people  and  in  the  respect  of  sister  na- 
tions as  the  ages  roll  by.  May  she  grow  rich 
in  intelligence,  in  educational  resources,  in 
the  fine  arts,  in  the  sciences,  in  the  productive 

571 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

industries,  and  in  that  great  wealth  of  noble 
and  righteous  character  that  shall  make  her 
the  friend  of  all  nations,  to  whom  the  needy 
nations  shall  turn  for  help,  the  bewildered  for 
counsel,  the  weak  for  protection,  the  strong 
for  wisdom,  and  all  for  fellowship ;  and  may 
she  fill  the  world  for  future  ages  with  the  glad- 
ness and  glory  of  our  Christian  civilization. 

O  Almighty  God,  we  are  gathered  here 
within  these  walls  and  within  these  gates  from 
our  National  Capital,  and  from  every  city 
and  section  of  our  wide  domain,  and  from  all 
the  lands  of  the  earth  to  acknowledge  Thee, 
and  in  Thy  name,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  to  dedicate  these 
buildings  and  these  grounds  to  the  uses  and 
purposes  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion. We  pray  Thy  blessing  upon  this  under- 
taking that  it  may  bring  glory  to  Thy  name 
and  benedictions  to  mankind. 

Now,  O  Lord,  our  Father,  we  pray  Thy 
blessing  upon  this  multitude.  In  Thy  great 
mercy  forgive  the  sins  of  each  of  us  and  bless 
us  with  eternal  salvation.  As  this  assembly 
will  scatter  and  soon  be  gone,  may  each  one  be 
ready  to  stand  in  that  great  assembly  which 
shall  gather  before  Thy  throne  and  be  per- 

572 


PRAYER  AT  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 

mitte.d  to  hear  the  supreme  sentence:  "Well 
done,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

And  unto  Thee,  our  God  and  our  Father, 
through  Him  who  is  the  friend  of  sinners,  will 
we,  with  the  angels  that  stand  about  the  throne, 
ascribe  "blessing  and  glory  and  wisdom  and 
thanksgiving  and  honor  and  power  and  might 
for  ever  and  ever.    Amen." 


573 


DEDICATORY    PRAYER    AT   OPEN 

ING  OF  PAN-AMERICAN 

EXPOSITION 


Delivered  at  the  invitation  of  the  Commission  of  the  Pan- 
American   Exposition  at  the   dedicatory  ceremonies 
held  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Monday,  May  20,  1901. 


DEDICATORY    PRAYER    AT    OPEN- 
ING OF  PAN-AMERICAN 
EXPOSITION 

Almighty  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  we  worship  Thee,  we  praise  Thee,  we 
adore  Thee.  Thou  art  our  Father.  We  bless 
Thee  that  Thou  hast  revealed  Thyself  through 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  Father.  We  are  gathered 
here  out  of  all  the  republics  of  this  Western 
Hemisphere,  out  of  all  the  lands  of  the  earth, 
from  under  all  the  governments  among  men. 
We  are  here  speaking  all  the  languages  in  all 
the  families  among  men,  and  Thou  hast  taught 
us  to  call  Thee  our  Father.  None  of  us  has  a 
monopoly  of  this  inheritance,  this  childship. 
But  as  Thou  art  our  Father,  Father  of  us  all, 
therefore  we  can  each  of  us  plead  our  sonship 
and  Thy  Fatherhood. 

When  Thou  didst  pour  out  the  fullness  of 
Thy  Spirit  upon  Thy  people  at  Pentecost,  "de- 
vout men  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven" 
received  the  divine  quickening  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  heart,  so  that  'Tarthians  and 
87  577 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE  OCCASIONS 

Medes  and  Elamites,  the  dwellers  in  Mesopo- 
tamia and  in  Judea  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus 
and  in  Asia,  Phrygia  and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt 
and  in  the  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  and 
strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes 
and  Arabians,"  did  all  hear,  every  man  ''in 
his  own  tongue  wherein  he  was  born,"  the 
good  news  of  Thine  everlasting  purpose  of  re- 
deeming love.  So  now  as  we  come  to  Thee, 
out  of  all  lands  and  using  all  languages,  and 
worship  and  praise  and  adore  Thee  as  our 
Father,  may  every  one  of  us  feel  in  his  own 
heart  and  hear  in  the  tongue  wherein  he  was 
born,  both  hear  and  feel  the  good  news  of  Thy 
Fatherhood  and  of  our  Brotherhood,  giving 
to  each  the  glad  sense  that  we  are  in  our  Fa- 
ther's house. 

^'Thou  hast  made  of  one  blood  all  nations 
of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  Thou  hast  determined  the  times 
before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  hab- 
itation, that  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if 
haply  they  might  feel  after  Him  and  find 
Him,  though  He  be  not  far  from  every  one  of 
us."  Thou  hast  made  the  one  blood  of  all 
peoples  to  tingle  in  our  veins,  and  whatever 
interests  any  man  interests  us.  Nothing 
human  is  alien  to  us. 

578 


PRAYER  AT  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPOSITION 

Thou  hast  thickened  the  one  blood  of  our 
kinship  by  the  one  blood  of  our  redemption. 
^'For  by  the  grace  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  tasted 
death  for  every  man,"  and  He  sends  forth 
all  who  hear  into  all  the  earth  to  tell  the  good 
news  to  every  creature,  saying:  "The  Spirit 
and  the  Bride  say  come,  and  let  him  that  hear- 
eth  say  come,  and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come, 
and  whosoever  will  let  him  come  and  take  of 
the  water  of  life  freely." 

Thou  art  Our  Father ;  help  us  to  rise  above 
the  mists  and  idiosyncrasies  of  our  individual 
environments  into  the  purity  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  and  into  the  light  that  enswathes  Thee, 
that  we  may  be  all  one  in  Thee,  living  "the  life 
which  we  now  live  in  the  flesh  by  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God  who  hath  loved  and  given 
Himself  for  us." 

There  is  a  wideness  in  Thy  mercy  like  the 
wideness  of  the  sea,  which  we  are  utterly  un- 
able to  comprehend,  we  are  so  little  and  nar- 
row, and  shut  in  by  such  hard  limitations. 
Thy  love  and  favor  are  a  perpetual  and  limit- 
less summer,  a  garden  of  exotics  from  the 
skies,  burdening  every  breath  with  the  fra- 
grance of  paradise.  We  are  the  offspring  of  a 
race  of  sinners,  deforming  and  distorting 
Thine  image  through  an  atmosphere  of  guilt. 

579 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

Yet  we  have  an  accessible  mercy-seat,  and  shel- 
tered by  the  atonement  we  come  boldly  to 
Thee  as  Our  Father,  and  undistinguished  by 
blood  or  race  or  tongue,  untitled  and  un- 
crowned, pleading  our  one  blood  of  kinship 
and  one  blood  of  redemption,  we  hold  up  our 
naked  hearts  to  Thee,  and  ask  Thee  to  turn 
aside  from  the  countless  ranks  of  beings  that 
worship  about  Thy  throne  and  look  upon  us 
and  hear  us  and  bless  us,  and  accept  the  little 
tribute  of  worship  which  we  offer  unto  Thee. 
We  thank  Thee  for  this  privilege  of  free 
worship  purchased  by  our  heroic  ancestors. 
We  thank  Thee  for  the  faith  of  the  martyrs 
and  the  courage  of  the  patriots,  for  the  charred 
stakes  where  the  fagots  were  kindled,  and  for 
the  fields  paved  with  the  bodies  of  heroes 
where  patriots'  lives  were  quenched.  We 
thank  Thee  for  mighty  warriors,  great  rulers, 
and  wise  statesmen.  We  thank  Thee  for  in- 
corruptible judges,  honest  lawyers,  and  unself- 
ish preachers.  We  thank  Thee  for  a  free 
Government,  a  free  Church,  a  free  Bible,  a 
free  conscience,  and  a  free  press.  We  thank 
Thee  for  universal  prosperity,  exalted  litera- 
ture, and  a  stable  currency.  We  thank  Thee 
for  a  government  that  pays  its  honest  debts 
whenever  due,  that  protects  its  innocent  citi- 

580 


PRAYER  AT  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPOSITION 

zens  wherever  imperiled,  and  that  makes  our 
flag  respected  wherever  unfurled.  We  thank 
Thee  for  an  administration  that  speaks  to  com- 
mand, that  moves  to  conquer,  and  fights  to  free. 
We  thank  Thee  for  soldiers  that  tread  the 
earth  in  triumph,  for  mariners  that  walk  the 
sea  in  power,  and  for  diplomats  that  secure 
justice  by  the  use  of  simple  truth.  We  thank 
Thee  for  our  rich  inheritance,  our  vast  do- 
mains, and  for  our  infinite  possibilities.  We 
remember  that  every  good  gift  and  every  per- 
fect gift  Cometh  down  from  Thee. 

Almighty  God,  our  Father,  be  patient  with 
us  and  forgive  all  our  sins  and  transgressions 
which  we  have  from  time  to  time  most  griev- 
ously committed  against  Thy  Divine  Majesty. 
The  remembrance  of  them  is  grievous  unto  us. 
We  are  too  often  selfish  and  forgetful  of  Thee. 
We  too  often  want  our  own  way  and  do  not 
always  heed  Thy  will.  We  are  alarmed  lest 
we  are  too  much  submerged  in  worldliness. 
Forbid  that  under  the  glare  of  our  civilization 
we  should  be  too  content  with  merely  making 
ourselves  better  animals  with  worldly  desires, 
absorbing  appetites,  and  narrowed  brows. 
Forbid  that  we  should  ever  be  content  to  dwell 
forever  in  the  cellars  of  our  being,  missing 
thus  the  great  outlook  to  Thee.     Forbid  that 

581 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

we  should  be  content  to  starve  on  husks  when 
we  may  feast  at  our  Father's  table.  Forbid 
that,  in  the  search  for  the  fleeting  riches  that 
perish  with  the  using,  we  should  become  blind 
to  the  riches  that  cost  the  tragedy  on  Mount 
Calvary.  O  Lord,  help  us  to  see  and  seize 
upon  the  great  spiritual  forces  that  sweep  on 
through  the  centuries,  lifting  men  to  more  ex- 
alted lives,  and  races  to  higher  levels.  O  Lord, 
God  Almighty,  our  Father,  have  mercy  upon 
us  and  forgive  us  all  our  sins  that  are  past. 
Quicken  our  moral  sense,  exalt  our  spiritual 
nature,  reveal  unto  us  Thy  pleasure,  and  help 
us  to  serve  Thee  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  May 
Thine  infinite  and  all-enswathing  love  so 
warm  our  hearts  toward  Thee  that  we  will 
gladly  follow  with  quick  scent  Thy  blessed 
will.  May  the  tender  pulsations  of  Thine  in- 
finite heart  prove  stronger  than  the  coarse 
gravitations  of  our  lower  natures.  Lift  us 
into  Thy  purity,  whose  fragrance  shall  charm 
us  out  of  our  lower  desires.  So  inspire  us  with 
Thy  love  that  all  our  selfishness  may  be 
smothered  and  we  be  not  conformed  to  this 
world,  but  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  our 
minds,  that  we  may  prove  what  is  that  good 
and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God. 

O  Lord,  we  pray  Thee  to  bless  the  Presi- 

582 


PRAYER  AT  PAN-AMERICAN  EXPOSITION 

dent  of  the  United  States  and  his  advisers. 
Bless  our  Vice-president,  who  may  become  our 
President.  Bless  the  Governor  of  this  Empire 
State.  Bless  all  the  governors  of  all  our  com- 
monw^ealths.  Bless  all  the  presidents  of  all  the 
American  republics.  Bless  all  the  rulers  of 
all  the  nations  in  any  way  represented  here. 
Bless  our  guests  from  every  land.  May  they 
have  a  profitable  sojourn  in  our  midst  and  a 
safe  return  to  their  distant  homes. 

Bless  this  beautiful  city  of  Buffalo,  and  all 
the  men  and  women  who  have  contributed  in 
any  way  to  secure  this  magnificent  result. 
Bless  the  Board  of  Directors,  giving  them 
quick  sight  to  determine  Thy  will,  and  cour- 
age to  do  it.  Bless  all  who  take  part  or  have 
interest  in  these  ceremonies.  May  this  day's 
service  and  the  service  of  all  the  coming  days 
of  this  Exposition  be  so  under  Thy  favoring 
care  that  all  patrons  and  visitors  so  far  as  pos- 
sible may  be  kept  from  sickness,  from  accident, 
and  from  too  great  discomfort. 

O  Almighty  God,  our  Father,  we  are 
gathered  here,  within  these  walls  and  within 
these  gates,  from  all  the  republics  of  this 
Western  Hemisphere,  and  from  many  lands 
of  all  the  earth,  in  the  name  of  the 
people    of    this   beautiful    city,    and    of    the 

583 


ADDRESSES   ON   NOTABLE   OCCASIONS 

people  of  this  Empire  State,  and  of  the 
people  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  people  of  all  the  republics  of 
all  the  Americas,  to  offer  unto  Thee  and  for 
Thy  service  and  for  the  glory  of  Thy  name, 
these  buildings  and  grounds,  and  to  dedicate 
these  buildings  and  these  grounds  to  the  uses 
and  purposes  of  the  Pan-American  Exposi- 
tion. We  know  that  we  are  not  worthy  to 
offer  unto  Thee  anything  belonging  unto  us. 
But  we  pray  Thee  now  to  arise  and  come  into 
this  place,  Thou  and  the  ark  of  Thy  power, 
that  all  these  displays  of  the  achievements 
Thou  hast  granted  unto  men  may  redound  to 
Thine  honor  and  to  the  glory  of  Thy  great 
name.  And  we  will  ascribe  all  the  glory  to 
the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


584 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  arrange- 
ment with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

jji  I 

r^t 

A    1^^^ 

KD>J06T 

#». 

•''•. 

C28(i14i)m100 

0022413421 


33Q.0 


r32.9 


033.6>  r&23 


IRimE  DO  NOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


DEC  1  3  1944 


r> 


'■{'-ef^^m 


?.} :  .?: 


■i:   . 


